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The Froler Case 


FROM THE FRENCH OF J. L. JAGOLLIOT. 

By H. O. Cooke. 

-LUSTRATED BY A. W. VAN DEUSEN 


TIIK 
CHI) !('(!; 
mim 
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THE FROLER CASE. 



THE FROLER CASE. 


NobcI. 


FROM THE FRENCH OF 

J. L.^ACOLLIOT. 

\\ 



TRANSLATED BY 

H. O. COOKE. 

I 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS B¥ A. W. VAN DEUSEN. 


% 


NEW YORK: 

ROBERT BONNER\S 

PUBLISHERS. 



THE CHOICE SERIES : ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY. SUBSCRIPTION PRtCE| TWELVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM. NO. 69, 
JULY 16, 1893. ENTERED AT THE NEW YORK, N. Y., POST OFFICE AS SECOND CLASS MAIL MATTER. 















COPYRIGHT, 1893 , • 

BY ROBERT BONNER’S SONS. 


(All rights reserved.) 


THE FROLER CASE, 


PART FIRST. 

A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 

* Monsieur cle Vergennes, the chief of Police in 
Paris, was entering the Hotel de le Prefecture 
about one o’clock in the morning on his return 
from the Opera, where he had accompanied his 
wife and daughter. When about to conduct the 
ladies to their rooms, he saw his confidential 
clerk hastening towards him. The young man 
seemed a prey to such strong emotion that Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes, struck by the agitation dis- 
played in his features, rapidly descended the 

17 ] 


8 


THE FROLER CASE. 


few steps which he had already mounted, say- 
ing: 

“ Well, Sylvan, what has happened ?” 

“ An awful affair. Monsieur,” replied the young 
man hurriedly. “ Jacques Froler, the chief of 
the Detective Service, has been assassinated in his 
private office not five minutes ago. The police 
agent who gave the alarm has gone for the 
doctor. I had just time to order that no one 
should be allowed to leave the building and 
come in search of you.” 

“ And the murderer?” 

“ Is being searched for in every corner of the 
hotel, and we are certain to secure him, for he 
has no possible means of escape.” 

An extraordinary excitement which, like a 
swell of the ocean, seemed to increase each • 
instant, was soon heard on all sides ; at that 
moment the police agent, Bousquet, who had 
been the first to give the alarm, returned with 
Doctor Bourdon, one of the doctors attached 
to the Prefecture. Monsieur de Vergennes ran 
up to them, followed by his secretary, and the 
whole four silently mounted to the unfortunate 
Froler’s office, which was situated on the second 
Story of the building. 



JACQUES LAURENT RECEIVES HIS VISITORS .— raH I. 







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A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


9 


Monsieur de Vergennes was a man of about 
forty years of age, tall, distinguished looking, 
affecting in his dress and manner of wearing his 
mustache the style of a French cavalry officer; 
very shrewd and diplomatic, he had, notwith- 
standing many changes of ministers, displayed 
great skill in retaining in position. It must also 
be confessed that never had the police force 
been confided to better hands. Monsieur de 
Vergennes possessed the rare faculty of reading 
his subordinates strong points and employing 
them according to their particular aptitude, sav- 
ing their strength on ordinary occasions, in 
order that he might tax them to the utmost of 
their power in cases of difficulty and danger. 
Above all, he understood how to avoid any 
wound to their amour propre^ any conflict of ser- 
vices — those habitual dissolvents of the best 
administrations, — and he had ended by gradually 
surrounding himself with a band of choice men 
not to be equalled in Europe. These were the 
good times of the French police, and the exploits 
of the detective service reflected still more 
renown on the brilliant achievements of their 
chief and rendered his position impregnable to 
such a degree that the Prefecture of Police 


10 


THE FROLER CASE. 


counted for naught without Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes, so completely were the functions of the 
office identified with the man. It can easily be 
imagined then with what emotion, although he 
allowed nothing of it to appear, the Chief heard 
of the crime which was to deprive him of one 
of his most valuable assistants. 

Jacques Froler had been head of the detective 
force for ten years, after having successfully 
carried out not only the business within the 
jurisdiction of his own special service, but also 
that which concerned political or private inter- 
ests with which he had been entrusted, without 
ever having had to register one failure. 

Active, intelligent, of tried courage, devoid 
of prejudice, despising men from what his own 
experience and the police records of the Pre- 
fecture had revealed of them, having, besides, 
the gift of divining correctly at first sight and 
conceiving a plan, which he executed immedi- 
ately, with a rapidity that scarcely left his adver- 
saries the time to reflect. 

The loss of such a man was irreparable ! This 
was, at least, the opinion of Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes on hearing of the crime which had just 
been committed. 


A ' MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 11 

On entering the office of the Chief Detective, 
the Chief of Police and his companions beheld 
the unfortunate sufferer lying on a mattress on 
the ground, which had been hastily brought for 
him, supported by two police agents who were 
kneeling beside him, while Luce, the assistant 
chief, held a sponge soaked in cold water to the 
wound in his back, and in which the dagger with 
which he had been struck still remained. No 
one had dared to remove it before the arrival of 
the doctor. 

“ He is still alive,’' said Doctor Bourdon, after 
a rapid examination. “ But that is all ; his heart 
beats very feebly and his pulse is quite still.” 

“Then there is no hope?” anxiously inquired 
the Chief of Police. 

“ I cannot hold out any,” replied the physi- 
cian, who was examining the wound, . . . “ the 
blade has penetrated the lungs between the 
fourth and fifth ribs and must have caused 
inward hemorrhage, against which the resources 
of art are of no avail.” 

“ Then he will die without speaking. . . . 
without naming his murderers?”. . . . 

“According to all probability. Chief, yes ; yet 
curious things sometimes happen in a case of 


12 


THE FROLEK CASE. 


this sort; the more I examine the wound the 
more it appears to me a mortal one, At the 
same time, if the blade of the dagger has not 
penetrated any vital part, and the internal hem- 
orrhage which I dread is not taking place, not 
only may he be recalled to life, but there will be 
a chance of his ultimate recovery.” 

“ Heaven grant it may be so, doctor.” 

While speaking, the doctor had not been idle ; 
he had skillfully cut away the clothes of the 
wounded man, and after having prepared the 
bandages, lint and other appliances which he 
considered might be necessary, he carefully pro- 
ceeded to extract the dagger from the wound ; a 
dangerous operation, which might cause imme- 
diate death. But it had to be done, for the pul- 
sations of the heart were growing fainter. 

Policemen had crowded into the room in spite 
of the Chief’s presence, and every moment 
agents came to render to Luce an account 
of the different precautions which had been 
taken to prevent the escape of the murderer, 
whom they were now certain of capturing, as 
no one had left by any of the numerous exits, of 
the vast building since the fatal event. 

The doctor with a gesture, called the attention 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 13 

of Monsieur de Vergenncs to the crowd which 
kept increasing, thus interfering with the free- 
dom of his movements and at the same time heat- 
ing the atmosphere to a degree hurtful to the 
wounded man. 

The Chief ordered the office to be cleared ; in 
an instant the only remaining witnesses, with the 
exception of himself and the doctor, were Luce 
and the two police agents supporting the body. 

The doctor seized firm hold of the dagger 
with his right hand, and with the two first 
fingers of the left pressing the wound together, he 
drew out the blade slowly, gradually, smoothly. 
. . . Suddenly he stopped, and the assistants 
saw him change color. 

“ What is it, doctor?” demanded the Chief, who 
watched this scene with painful anxiety. 

“ Look,” said the surgeon. “ I have already 
drawn out twenty centimeters of blade and 
there is still some left. Besides, it is a flame 
shaped dagger, and wounds from this sort of 
weapon are always mortal. ... he cannot sur- 
vive ten minutes !” 

“ In the name of Heaven !” said Monsieur de 
Vergennes, “ try to revive him, so that we may 
at least know the name of his murderer. . . .” 


14 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“ Then we must make the most of the last 
spark of life remaining.” 

With these words, the surgeon, breaking 
through his usual measures of prudence, quickly 
drew out what still remained of the poignard 
sticking in the wound, and holding together 
the opening, he allowed the blood to trickle out 
slowly, in such a way as to relieve the left lung, 
without in any way risking the flow of the 
dreaded hemorrhage. 

The doctor’s experiment proved as success- 
ful as the desperate situation rendered possible : 
a few instants later, and the sufferer sighed as 
he opened his eyes. His lung, relieved from 
the blood obstructing it, allowed a hoarse, 
whistling sound to escape, but at the same 
moment, a blood-stained foam appeared at the 
opening of the wound. The surgeon evidently 
viewed this as a very serious symptom, for he 
said in a quick tone of voice to Monsieur de 
Vergennes : 

“ Make haste, if you wish him to speak. . . .” 

Then, he added, in a lower voice : 

“ It will be all over in five minutes 1” 

“Froler,” said the chief. “Can you under- 
stand me ?” 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


15 


The dying man responded by a sign in the 
affirmative. 

Monsieur de Vergennes continued : 

“Take courage, my dear fellow, your case is 
far from hopeless.*' 

“ Don’t lose any time, Chief,” said the doctor 
in a low voice, “ at any moment it may be too 
late.” 

On his side Froler had made a gesture of dis- 
sent on hearing the Chief’s words ; his eyes shone 
feverishly as he opened and closed them in an 
agony of pain and anxiety, and his right hand 
moved as if feeling for something near him. 

“ Quickly, a slate,” said Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes suddenly, a bright idea occurring to him ; 
“ he evidently cannot speak, and wants to write.” 

A look of relief brightened the old detective’s 
countenance on finding he was understood ; he 
comprehended the full gravity of his position 
and did not wish to die without the hope of 
being avenged. 

The order of the Chief had been attended to, 
and a police agent placing himself by Froler’s 
side, held the slate firmlv, so as to permit of the 
latter writing without fatigue. 


16 


THE FKOLER CASE. 


“ You know your murderer ?” demanded Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes of the wounded man. 

The latter replied by a sign in the affirmative, 
and with difficulty stretched out the hand hold- 
ing the pencil to the slate which the agent held 
out to him. 

A painful emotion wrung the hearts of those 
present. Froler was visibly sinking. Would he 
be able to write ? 

The surgeon made him inhale some strong 
salts, which appeared to revive him, for the pen- 
cil was heard to scrape against the slate, and 
two letters were the fruits of this first effort 
. . . . “ D. E.” The chief had not time to find 
out the meaning of these two letters, for the un- 
fortunate Froler had stopped, breathless, ex- 
hausted, again placed the pencil on the slate, 
and with unequaled energy, consecrated the last 
effort of his expiring life in writing the name of 
the one who had struck him this cowardly blow 
. . . . but it was in vain, death had interfered 
to deprive him of this supreme satisfaction. 
Scarcely had he traced in a feeble manner the 
letter “ M.” . . . when the pencil dropped from 
his hand, his head fell back, and with one last 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


IT 


convulsive spasm of the body .... he was no 
more. 

At the same moment, the police agents on the 
night watch, who had searched every corner of 
the building, came in, rather ashamed of the 
fact, to announce to the Chief their complete 
failure, “ and yet,” they said with earnest con- 
viction, “ the assassin could not have had time 
to escape.” 

Another very important statement corrobo- 
rated their words: two of the sentinels placed 
on guard at the different entrances of the build- 
ing, declared that at the moment th-e order ar- 
rived not to allow any one to pass, a stranger 
had presented himself at the two little eastern 
gateways, but had returned on finding he could 
not pass. This man, the police agents insisted, 
must certainly be the murderer, and the reason 
they had not been able to secure him was that 
he must have taken refuge in that part of the 
building inhabited by the chief, which they had 
not dared to search without his instructions. 
As to the appearance of the individual who had 
wanted to pass, the two guards could not de- 
scribe him, for Monsieur de Vergennes must re- 
member that these particular gateways were 


18 


THE FROLER CASE, 


placed at the end of two narrow staircases, which 
were never lighted after office hours, also the two 
sentinels, never guessing the importance of the 
order received, had contented themselves with 
calling out, on hearing the sounds of steps on 
the staircase : “ No one allowed to leave by 

this door,” without troubling themselves about 
the person whom they had not even seen. At 
the same time, a circumstance worth noting, 
both men had remarked the rapidity with which 
the stranger had retraced his steps. 

After this verbal report from the police 
agents, the Chief agreed with them in deciding 
that the assassin could not yet have left the 
building ; he gave orders to have the body of 
the unfortunate Froler carried to the infirmary 
of the Prefecture, unwilling to pursue the en- 
quiry in presence of the still warm body of the 
victim, and only retained with him Luce and 
those who had already taken part in the search. 

No one having been allowed to leave the Pre- 
fecture, the crime could not have been yet made 
known in Paris, and it was of importance that 
matters should proceed quickly, so that the cap- 
ture of the murderer should be announced at 
the same time with the committal of the crime. 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


19 


Monsieur de Vergennes was very sensitive as 
to the criticisms of the press, and he thought 
over the effect which would he produced when 
the news of the assassination of the head of the 
detective force in his own private office, sur- 
rounded by police agents, vyas announced, if 
they were reduced to the necessity of confess- 
ing that the assassin had escaped. He already 
saw in the daily papers these remarks : “ How 

can honest tradesmen retire for the night in 
peaceful security, when in the very headquar- 
ters of the police, one of their own number can 
be stabbed with impunity, under the watchful 
eyes of their intelligent agents, who push their 
complaisance so far as even to countenance the 
departure of the murderer. ...” 

‘Hf I do not get the villain who stabbed 
Froler in my power before this night passes,” 
he argued to himself, “ there will be nothing left 
for me to do but send in my resignation to the 
minister, and not wait until he asks for it, so 
strong will public opinion be against me.” 

Then addressing his assistant : 

“ Monsieur Luce,” said he to him, “ at the 
hour that Froler’s murderer is arrested, I will 
sign your appointment as head of the detective 


20 


THE FROLER CASE. 


force. I hope you may be more fortunate than 
your agents, in the new perquisition you are 
about to undertake. When you have gone over 
all the rest of the building, I will accompany 
you to the apartments set aside for my own par- 
ticular use Take great care of this slate 

on which poor Froler wrote the three letters — 
D. E. D. — . ^ . in order to hand it over to the 

magistrate, for if they are the first three letters 
of the Christian name or surname of the assas- 
sin, it will be equivalent to a formal designation 
of the murderer by his victim. Now I think of 
it, how did this fatal event take place? I have 
had no time, since I returned from the opera, to 
question any one regarding it.” 

“We hardly know more than you do. Mon- 
sieur. I had remained a long time with Froler, 
talking over the affair of the Rue Montorqueil, 
our first failure for several years, which, how- 
ever, does not prevent the papers from attack- 
ing us daily.” 

“ It would be a much more serious matter if 
Froler’s assassin escaped us.” 

“ Oh ! as to him. Monsieur, I have no fear ; we 
shall have no difficulty in finding him, hidden, 
probably, in one of the corners of that part of 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


21 


the hotel reserved for your especial use, for I 
defy him to pass any of the gates so long as the 
order is not withdrawn. . . . But about the 
explanations you asked me for. I had just left 
Froler, and was on my way to change the men 
for the night, when suddenly we heard a dull 
sound as of a body falling in his office ; the 
agent, Bousquet, who was near the door, opened 
it quickly and rushed in just in time to see the 
opposite door, communicating with the passage 
leading to your secretary’s office, close. Without 
troubling about Froler, who was lying full 
length on the carpet, and whom he left us to 
assist, Bousquet dashed like a bomb-shell at 
the second door, but it resisted all his efforts, 
the assassin had had presence of mind to push 
the bolts on the outside, which you had placed 
there to break off, when it suited you, all com- 
munication on that side with your apartments. 
While the police agents descended in a crowd 
to the central court in order to gain the opposite 
wing, which the murderer would have to cross 
before he could make his escape, I warned 
Monsieur Sylvan, your secretary, who immedi- 
ately sent the order interdicting any one from 
leaving the building. Two minutes had not 


22 


THE FROLER CASE. 


passed since the event, an altogether insufficient 
time for the murderer to reach any of the exits 
from the spot where this mysterious assassina- 
tion had been perpetrated! ... We had just 
lifted up Froler and laid him on the mattress, 
hastily brought over from the infirmary of the 
Prefecture, when you arrived with Doctor 
Bourdon.” 

That is enough. I shall have a host of ques- 
tions to ask you yet, but they are of no con- 
sequence unless the murderer happens to escape ; 
it is useless, then, to waste time just now, when 
it is so much more urgent your search should be 
continued. Take what men you consider neces- 
sary, and let me know when you have visited all 
the building except the rooms reserved for my 
use.” 

With these words, the Chief left his subor- 
dinate, he was anxious to reassure his wife and 
daughter, whom he had left more than an hour 
ago. 

When alone. Luce gave free vent to the 
impressions which he had been obliged to 
restrain until now. 

. So at last this position of Chief Detective is 
vacant, the place I have been ambitious to fill 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


23 


for the last ten years, and which Froler obtained 
by the most glaring injustice .... A few hours 
more, and this brigade, so renowned for its dis- 
cipline and intelligence, will be under my direct 
authority .... I will undertake to make it 
accomplish wonders. Of course, Froler was 
clever, I don’t question his ability, but he had 
one great defect for a detective, he did not 
know how to listen to the advice of those 
around him, so anxious was he that all import- 
ant captures should be due to his skill alone. 
And then, if love of the profession had not over- 
ruled every other consideration with me, how 
often would we not have had to submit to some 
terrible failures, had we followed his directions 
. . . . but what is the good of dwelling on the 
past. Here I am at the height of my ambition. 
May he rest in peace ! . . . I must go now and 
cage my bird ; the poor devil who has been the 
cause of my becoming Chief of the Detective 
Force without knowing it, was certainly ignor- 
ant that it was only necessary to press an elec- 
tric button and at every exit the following order 
would appear on a board : “ No one allowed to 

pass out without further orders.” Had he 
guessed as much, he would never have allowed 


24 


THE FROLER CASE. 


himself to be caught here like a rat in a trap 
. . . . But what could have been his motive? 
Certainly we are not wanting for enemies, we 
detectives; but ordinary malefactors do not hate 
us to the degree of murdering us ; they know we 
only pursue them because it is our trade, and 
not from feelings of personal hate ; so I should 
not be astonished if this proved to be an act of 
private vengeance from some higher source. 
Chief detectives are at times in possession of 
grave secrets, in which the honor of the highest 
families is at stake; in such cases, a man must 
know how to shut his eyes, hold his tongue and 
forget .... without that, he is pitilessly sacri- 
ficed to those superior considerations before 
which our insignificance is of little importance 
. . . . I do not believe Froler was capable of 
abusing a secret known to him alone and com- 
ing to his knowledge during the performance of 
his duty, but his interest being brought into 
play, he was just the man to make the value of 
his silence felt ; his one ambition was to die in 
the Council of the State, and that might have 
been against him. It is not twenty-four hours 
ago that he said to me, with a meaning wink: 
“ Luce, this time I have secured my seat ; they 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


25 


cannot keep me out of it any longer!” What 
could poor Froler have had to sell but his 
silence? Not understanding the silliness, the 
utter folly of such an ambitious dream, he must 
have insisted too much. . . . And they have put 
him out of their way ! . . . But of what serious 
importance the affair must have been to drive 
them to such lengths? Well! . . . What am 1 
about, dreaming in my turn and building up a 
romance on an adventure to which I shall have 
the key in a few moments in my hand.” 

While thus reflecting, Luce was walking up 
and down the office awaiting the return of two 
police agents who had accompanied the bearers 
of Froler’s body to the infirmary, for he could 
not begin his researches without them . . . . 
Suddenly his attention was attracted by a shin- 
ing spot which sparkled a few steps from him 
on the carpet ; to stop his walk and pick up the 
object was the work of a second. Judge of his 
astonishment when he beheld in his hand a mag- 
nificent diamond stud, worth at least five or six 
thousand francs. . . . Such a jewel could never 
have belonged to Froler, nor to any of those 
who had been in the office that evening, except- 
ing, of course, the Chief ; but Luce put that sup- 


26 


THE FROLER CASE. 


position aside at once, for Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes had assisted the doctor when he was 
examining Froler’s wound, and had pulled up his 
shirt sleeves for the purpose, thus necessitating 
the removal of his studs, which he had placed on 
a corner of the desk, and Luce had distinctly 
noticed that they were made of mother-of-pearl, 
having a count’s coronet with the arms of the 
Vergennes family engraved on them. 

But, then, how had this brilliant got there? 
With his keen detective scent Luce was not long 
in finding an answer to this question. The 
diamond could only belong to the murderer, 
unless, indeed, it had been found in the posses- 
sion of some offender and handed to the Chief 
by one of the police agents who had arrested 
him; but this last hypothesis was not a very 
probable one, for it would have been placed 
in a secure repository when received, and on 
Luce inspecting the register where these sort of 
articles were instantly noted down under the 
double signature of the police agent who handed 
it in and the Chief who received it, the register 
bore no trace of such a deposit ! 

‘‘This looks serious,” muttered Luce thought- 
fully. “ Were my suppositions of a few moments 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


27 


ago nearer the truth than 1 suspected ? .... In 
any case, something tells me that this affair will 
not prove so simple as it appeared at first .... 
and to begin with, I very much fear the assassin 
will succeed in evading us in spite of all our 
precautions .... who knows even if Monsieur 
de Vergennes?. . . That would surpass ever}"- 
thing!. . . but it would not be the first time 
such a thing happened .... in any case, I must 
keep my mouth shut and be patient !” 

At this moment the two police agents 
re-entered with Doctor Bourdon, who had come 
to write out his report. 

Luce requested him to do this in the private 
secretary’s office, who was to remain there all 
night, then having placed a sentinel at both 
doors of the Chief Detective’s office, immediate- 
ly began the perquisition about the success of 
which he was not now so sanguine. 

With the exception of the agents of the force, 
those who were on guard at the different posts, 
the few employees who lived there, and the ser- 
vants of the Chief, the vast building, generally 
so full of life and movement during the day, was 
now silent and almost empty, the excitement 
consequent upon the assassination of Froler had 


28 


THE FROLER CASE. 


by this time completely subsided, a deep silence 
reigned in those long passages and sombre cor- 
ridors, out of which opened the numerous 
offices of the different services of the police. 
Luce did not leave the smallest corner, cup- 
board, or chimney without examining them with 
the most minute care, and in order that the sup- 
posed assassin might not be able to take refuge 
in the parts already searched a guard was placed 
at each crossing of the corridors and at the top 
of each staircase. 

Commencing in the cellars and basement, the 
search was carried on up to the attics with- 
out leading to any results. There now remained 
only the private rooms belonging to the Chief 
of Police. A profound feeling of vexation could 
be read on the faces of the police agents who, 
without exception, looked for no good results 
from this last part of their search ; there was 
very little chance that the murderer would have 
dared to penetrate into any places well lighted 
and occupied, where he could not take a step 
without running the risk of exposure and recog- 
nition. 

Informed of the unsuccessful issue of the 
search, Monsieur de Vergennes betrayed such 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


29 


disappointment that Luce could not help mut- 
terring between his teeth : 

“ If the Chief is in the secret .... it must be 
confessed he plays his part to perfection.” 

Monsieur de Vergennes accompanied the 
party himself through his private suite of rooms, 
although feeling quite persuaded in advance 
of the uselessness of the proceeding, having 
already made his servants search his apart- 
ments; but he wished that Luce also should 
make an investigation, so that he would be in a 
position to say so in his official report. Every- 
thing was to be dreaded from the malignity of 
the public, which very little sufficed to arouse : 
the comic papers would not be sparing in their 
caricatures of this case, probably representing 
the assassin on his way to gormandize in the 
kitchen of the Chief of Police, while the intelli- 
gent police agents was chasing after him in the 
cellars. 

There was only the drawing-room remain- 
ing, in which were Monsieur de Vergenne’s 
family. . . The agents exchanged looks of pro- 
found discouragement, and the Chief appeared 
completely overpowered by the failure. Luce 


30 


THE FROLER CASE. 


alone kept his impressions to himself and 
remained impenetrable. 

“ I think it is useless to disturb the ladies,” he 
said to his Chief ; “ the murderer would cer- 
tainly never have dared to enter the drawing- 
room while they were there.” 

“ The crime had already been committed 
when we returned from the opera, my dear 
Luce,” replied Monsieur de Vergennes. ‘‘ I 
must insist, then, that all my rooms be carefully 
searched. . . 

His subordinate bowed and followed the 
Chief, accompanied by his men. 

The Chief’s wife and daughter, a young girl 
of about eighteen years of age, were not alone ; 
an old man with a fine face, a distinguished 
bearing, and still vigorous in appearance, 
although he must have passed his sixtieth year, 
was sitting with them. 

On perceiving the stranger. Luce involun- 
tarily started ; it seemed to him that this was 
not the first time they had met, and like a flash 
the thought crossed his mind that this man 
might have played a part in the assassination of 
the Chief Detective. But before he had time 
to collect his thoughts and consider this idea. 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


31 


with one word the Chief of Police destroyed his 
scarcely conceived suspicions by presenting him 
to his father-in-law, Monsieur de Marsay, Judge 
of the Supreme Court 

All idea of the complicity on the part of the 
old man in the crime just committed vanished 
immediately from Luce’s mind, but the name of 
the judge proved to him that he was not mis- 
taken in supposing he had seen him before. 

“ De Marsay ! De Marsay !” he murmured. 
“ What a strange meeting after a separation of 
thirty years ! It is indeed he, but does he wish 
to recognize me? .... Yes, if he had nothing 
to do with what happened to my poor brother 
.... Oh ! I must find out if really .... for 
then it would be the justice of Heaven which 
delivers him into my hands . . . .” He could no 
longer continue this inward monologue, for the 
introduction having been gone through, the old 
judge said to him with reference to the murder 
committed such a short time before: 

“ A very sad adventure for everyone. Mon- 
sieur Luce, and which will have a disastrous 
effect on the very impressionable population of 
Paris.” 

Above all, in the presence of the failure of 


32 


THE FROLER CASE. 


our search,” replied Luce, darting at Monsieur 
Marsay a questioning look laden with memories 
of the past. 

Monsieur de Vergennes’ father-in-law seemed 
as if he did not understand, and continued with 
the greatest coolness : 

“ How do you explain to yourself, having 
taken the necessary precautions, that the mur- 
derer has been able to escape from the build- 
ing?” 

“I cannot explain it. Monsieur; it is impos- 
sible that the murderer could have gone faster 
than the telegraph. I still believe he has not 
escaped from here .... besides, we have proof 
that he made an attempt to get out in vain.” 

“You have this proof?” exclaimed the old 
man, with imprudent eagerness, which Luce did 
not fail to notice. 

“ The devil !” he reflected. “ Here is an old fel- 
low who obstinately refuses to recognize me in 
spite of the signs I make him ! Yet he cannot 
have forgotten me, and then, he seems to take a 
very lively interest in the flight of our assassin 
. . . . we had better keep our eyes open . . . . 
Nothing will get the idea out of my head that 



THE FINDING OF THE LOST JEWEL.— Part I. 



A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


33 


Froler has not been assassinated from any ordin- 
ary motive . . . 

These thoughts had pressed through Luce’s 
brain with the rapidity of lightning, and his 
answer to Monsieur de Marsay was not delayed 
to any noticeable extent. 

“Yes, sir,” he replied, “ we have that proof, 
and you can judge yourself of its value : two of 
our agents have declared, separately, that very 
shortly after having received the order, inter- 
dicting the passing out of an}’ one, a stranger 
had tried to leave the building by the two 
eastern gateways, but had quickly retraced his 
steps on meeting with this opposition .... 
Without doubt, that man is the murderer we are 
in search of! ... . That is not all, chance has 
put in my hands another proof of the first 
importance to us detectives ” 

Luce never finished his sentence. An incident 
rapid as a flash of lightning on a dark night, an 
incident as terrible as it was unexpected, had 
literally frozen his powers of speech. 

What was it that had taken place? 

While replying to Monsieur de Marsay he 
had taken his pocket-book out of his pocket, 
with the intention of handing to Monsieur de 


34 : 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Vergennes, as a convincing proof, the brilliant 
he had found in Froler’s office, but the jewel, 
without his knowledge, had dropped and rolled 
noiselessly on the carpet, and everyone’s atten- 
tion being directed to what he was saying, the 
fact escaped tlie notice of all the occupants of 
the drawing-room, when suddenly Monsieur de 
Vergennes’ young daughter bent down quickly 
and gave an exclamation of joyous surprise. 

“ Grandfather,” she cried, “ here is your stud 
which we looked for so carefully only a moment 
ago.” 

And in her hand, between her rose-tinted 
dainty fingers, she held out the sparkling jewel. 

Under the shock of the violent emotion 
caused by these words. Luce was on the point 
of committing himself .... but with the rapid- 
ity of lightning, he had calculated the immense 
importance of the scene which had passed under 
his eyes, and quickly realized that above all he 
must conceal every evidence of the impressions 
agitating him. Never in his long experience as 
a detective had he ever found himself in such a 
terrible position .... and, perhaps, in spite' of 
the power he possessed over himself, he might 
not have been able to recover from the mental 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


35 


shock he had received, had not Madame de Ver- 
gennes afforded him the time and chance of 
fully appreciating the exceptional gravity of the 
incident. 

“ It is indeed one of the studs we gave my 
father on his last birthday,” she said, after exam- 
ining the diamond, which she had taken from 
her daughter’s hands, “ besides, we can easily 
compare them,” she added, holding out the stud 
to the old judge. 

The latter, without the slightest apparent hesi- 
tation, took the jewel, replaced it in his cuff, say. 
ing in the most natural manner: 

“ Quite unnecessary, my dear, this brilliant is 
the one I dropped here this very evening. I am 
glad we have found it ; but do not let us waste 
the time of these worthy fellows, so valuable 
to them in their present search. . . .” 

Then addressing Luce : 

“You were saying. Monsieur, that you had 
discovered some important evidence, — calculated 
to put you on the track of the guilty man ; am I 
not right ?” 

This question which was put with the greatest 
coolness, recalled Luce to the necessities of the 
situation ; he had only one end in view now, to 


36 


THE FROLER CASE. 


leave the Chief’s apartments and regain his own 
room so that he might have time to think over 
the events of the evening in peace. Since that 
episode of the diamond, which had suddenly 
thrown such a singular light on the sinister crime 
of which Froler had been the victim, Luce, his 
head on fire, saw nothing of what was passing 
around him in Monsieur de Vergennes drawing- 
room, and he devoted what strength of mind 
remained to him in repressing the tumultuous 
impressions which were confounding his ideas, as 
a gust of wind whirls about the dry leaves on a 
dusty road. 

Overjoyed at finding the stud, the Chief’s 
family had not paid any attention to what was 
taking place, and Monsieur de Vergennes, who 
knew the value of the jewel which his father-in- 
law had recovered, found his own attention dis- 
tracted for a moment from the sad forebodings 
which had assailed him in consequence of the 
daring murder, the perpetrator of which seemed 
to have made his essape. 

An old police agent, called Heurtloup, who 
was Luce’s most confidential assistant, was the 
only one of all those around who had noticed the 
extraordinary emotion of the latter when the 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


3T 


Chief’s young daughter had found the lost dia- 
mond. Although the reciprocal relations of the 
two facts had absolutely escaped him, yet like 
the old bloodhound he was, he put this, among 
other events, aside in a corner of his brain until 
he could find the key to it ; he made up his mind 
not to forget these two circumstances, connecting 
them with the fact which was occupying the at- 
tention of everyone, — the assassination of Froler, 
— although at the time, they did not seem to have 
any direct bearing on the crime committed. It 
had so frequently happened to him during his 
now lengthened career as a detective, to fit 
together threads which seemed absolutely 
foreign to each other, that he did not despair of 
one day finding the connecting link which would 
reunite these two facts into one common whole. 

Luce, who had gradually regained his com- 
posure, comprehended that he was expected to 
give a direct answer to the question which the 
old judge had put, since he had challenged it by 
affirming that he was in possession of important 
evidence which would put him on the track of 
the murderer .... but what could he say? The 
detective found himself in a corner, without any 
apparent means of escape ! To speak of the 


38 


THE FROLEB CASE. 


diamond was impossible, for that would be tan. 
tamount to accusing Monsieur de Vergennes’ 
father-in-law of Froler’s assassination, without 
any other proof than his own word. He might 
in vain declare that the jewel he had found in 
the Chief Detective’s office had escaped from his 
pocket-book at the moment he was going to 
hand it to his chief. Every one would have de- 
clared that the diamond* had been picked up by 
the young daughter of Monsieur de Vergennes, 
and his own accusation might be turned against 
him. And then, how could he make any one 
believe that a judge of the Supreme Court 
could be guilty of such a crime ? Admitting 
even that the diamond had been found in Fro- 
ler’s office, what serious result could ensue from 
that fact? Above all, when the social position of 
the owner of the jewel was taken into consider- 
ation? Monsieur de Vergennes’ father-in-law 
loses a valuable stud somewhere in the Prefec- 
ture de Police ; it is clear he cannot indicate the 
exact spot where he met with his loss ; he be- 
came aware of it in the salon, but it might have 
happened in the passages or even staircases, as 
well as in the private apartments, and might it 
not happen that Froler had found this dia- 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


39 


mond on going to his office, and that he had not 
had the time to make enquiries about the right- 
ful owner before the murder had been com- 
summated, of which he had been the victim? 
In truth, it was inadmissible that an accusation 
so grave as that of murder could be established 
on such a fragile basis ! . . . So, while secretly 
suspecting Monsieur de Marsay of having some- 
thing to do with the mysterious assassination of 
the Chief Detective, under the strong impres- 
sion made upon him by the episode of the dia- 
mond, Luce, returning to a healthier appre- 
ciation of the facts, comprehends the danger of 
his situation if on mere suspicions, that nothing 
so far justified, he accused Monsieur de Marsay 
in the presence of Monsieur de Vergennes, his 
son-in-law. He could not dare either to incrim- 
inate the judge of the Supreme Court, unless in 
full possession of proofs, and these proofs, 
although his detective instincts assured him he 
would end by finding did they exist, he was not 
in possession of at this moment. It was certain 
that Monsieur de Marsay’s diamond could not 
have found its way alone to the unfortunate 
Froler’s office, and, more, on examining the sen- 
tinels, Luce had also acquired the knowledge 


40 


THE FROLER CASE. 


that the Chief Detective had already been more 
than half an hour at the Prefecture when Mon- 
sieur de Marsay had entered by the principal 
gateway ; that entirely excludes the hypothesis 
that Froler had found the jewel; but all 
this, although sufficient to serve as a basis for 
an enquiry which Luce meant, to set on foot, 
would have vanished into thin air if a serious 
and definite accusation had been made on such 
slight grounds. 

The situation was a most unheard of one. 
Without having exchanged one word which 
would have led to the betrayal of their real sen- 
timents, without any of those present at this 
strange scene suspecting it, the two men had 
become mortal enemies, and old memories to 
which no one had the key provided nourish- 
ment for their mutual hatred, as well as the sus- 
picions relative to the murder of Froler, that 
de Marsay instinctively felt hovering over him 
in Luce’s thoughts, and from there the deter- 
mination on the part of the Judge to force the 
detective to speak, in order to know what these 
proofs and evidence consisted of to which Luce 
had made allusion ; while, on his side, the detec- 
tive was equally determined to be silent regard- 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


41 


ing the crime committed at the Prefecture, 
with the hope of forcing De Marsay to his last 
refuge, namely, to appeal to the old relations 
that had existed between them. 

Monsieur de Marsay feared nothing from the 
present ; nevertheless, an enquiry conducted by 
a detective of Luce’s trained skill might bring 
to light a dark spot in his past life, and it was 
this he feared. What he desired before every- 
thing then, was to know if the detective had any 
serious intention of accusing him ! In the course 
of the conversation which followed the scene 
about the diamond, he found the opportunity he 
sought for to force the detective to explain 
what he meant by the important evidence he 
asserted he had discovered against the mur- 
derer. 

The question had been skillfully put to Luce, 
as if seconded by Monsieur de Vergennes ; the 
detective felt the snare, for he could not refuse 
to give any explanations the Chief demanded, 
but he quickly resolved to make them redound 
to his own advantage. 

After giving his adversary a look which sig- 
nified, “ I shrill say nothing, and you shall know 


42 


THE FROLER CASE. 


nothing . . . he replied, in the coolest man- 
ner. 

“ Mon Dieu ! Monsieur, you have given more 
importance to my words than they merited. I 
allowed myself to indulge in a series of deduc- 
tions more or less hypothetical, which is a habit 
we detectives have of indulging ourselves in 
when in presence of a crime which has balked 
our first search ; what would be the use, then, of 
repeating idle suppositions to you which may 
never be realized.” 

“ You did not speak of suppositions. Monsieur 
Luce,” replied the Judge in the cold tone of a 
^ man who holds his adversary in his power, but 
of ‘ important evidence! to repeat your own words 
which are fresh in the memory of us all. I beg 
you to observe, then, in this case, that the mys- 
terious circumstances which have accompanied 
the assassination of Monsieur de Froler, the 
place where the crime was committed, the dar- 
ing escape of the murderer, — for 1 persist in 
believing that he has succeeded in escaping, — all 
combined, make it your duty to speak out and tell 
us what you have discovered, for you have dis- 
covered something important, your own words 
prove that. Reflect on this, that your silence. 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


43 


in this case, justifies any suspicion, even that of 
complicity !” 

Monsieur de Marsay had shown great skill on 
starting. He hemmed in Luce between the 
obligation of explaining his words or the alter- 
native of admitting that he had spoken rashly ; 
it was a master-stroke which must fatally lower 
him in the eyes of Monsieur de Vergennes 
and deprive him of the position of Chief Detec- 
tive that he had so k)ng and ardently coveted* 
Luce, acting under orders, would be no longer 
dangerous, for he would have nothing to do 
with the direction of any search. The detective 
could not help appreciating the skillful tactics 
adopted by his enem}^ when suddenly carried 
away by the heat of his argument. Monsieur 
de Marsay had allowed 'the unlucky accusation 
of complicity to escape him, thus losing all 
the advantage he had previously gained. 

“ I have got him,” thought Luce, and without 
giving the old judge time to correct the dis- 
agreeable impression he had produced by these 
latter words, he drew himself up, erect, pale and 
indignant under the insult, and addressing Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes, who had made a gesture of 
protestation to his father-in-law, and with the 


u 


THE FROLER CASE. 


skill of a finished actor he said, in a voice 
trembling with suppressed emotion : 

“ Monsieur le Prefet, I have served under you 
for thirty j^ears, examine my record, search the 
testimonials your predecessor gave me, as well 
as those I have received from you, and tell Mon- 
sieur le Judge that during that long period of 
time, not once have I had to submit to punish- 
ment or blame, but that my services have been 
rewarded by honorable mention in the orders of 
the day, seven medals, and the cross of the 
Legion of Honor. ... If after a whole life 
employed in the defence of society, I can be 
suspected with impunity before you of complic- 
ity in the crime committed this night, it only 
remains for me to send in my resignation.’’ 

Luce seemed to experience difficulty in enun- 
ciating the concluding words, and terminated 
his speech by choking down a sob with a skill 
that would have awakened envy in the breast of 
the most able melodramatic villain. 

Heurtloup, with clenched fists, actually wept 
with helpless rage at -the sight of his chief’s 
grief. 

Monsieur de Vergenneswas deeply moved by 
this protest from one of the oldest and most 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


45 


faithful servants in the service. So his first 
effort was to appease him. 

“Come, come, my dear Luce, you mistake the 
true meaning of my father-in-law’s words, which 
in no way were intended to cast a reflection on 
you. Simply giving expression to a general 
idea, Monsieur de Marsay wished to say that all 
the employees of the force, who did not declare 
openly what he knew regarding the event of 
this night, would expose himself to being 
reproached with moral complicity. . . . Believe 
me, my dear Luce, that such were his thoughts ; 
and for my part, 1 repudiate even the very 
shadow of an imputation against your loyalty.” 

“ I thank you. Monsieur,” said Luce sadly, 
“ for trying to pour a little balm on my wound 
. . . . the blow went straight to my heart, and 
I felt it deeply. Be good enough now. Sir, to 
allow me to withdraw with the rest of my men. 
All my searches having been until this moment 
without effect; I must at once take measures to 
facilitate the discovery of the guilty man.” 

“ And here is something,” replied the Chief, 
handing him a folded paper, “ to invest you with 
more authority and contribute to the success of 
your efforts.” 


46 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“ An order with reference to some important 
service?” questioned Luce mechanically. 

“ No, my dear fellow,” said Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes, smiling. “ It is your appointment as 
chief detective which I have just signed.” 

“What, Monsieur! You have been good 
enough ! . . .” exclaimed Luce filled with joyful 
surprise. 

“Yes. Contrary to what I had originally de- 
cided, I have concluded that this position was 
one of too great importance to remain vacant, 
and then I wish to bestow this mark of my con- 
fidence on you by not keeping you waiting for 
an appointment to which you had a prior claim 
before our unfortunate friend, Froler. ... At 
the time of his appointment there was some one 
high in influence who wished to pay some old 
debt, at least so I have heard, for I was not 
chief of police at the time. . . .” 

“ Your information was correct, Monsieur,* 
interrupted Luce, “ the president of the 
Supreme Court wished to recompense Froler 
for a great service he had rendered him for- 
merly, a service the true nature of which was 
known only to themselves and Jacques Laurent, 
the late Chief Detective.”. . . As Luce concluded 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


47 


these words he directed a questioning glance at 
Monsieur de Marsay, but the old judge never 
moved a muscle. “ He persists in not recogniz- 
ing me,” thought the detective ; ‘‘ let me see,” 
and he continued aloud : ‘‘Some of you will 
remember that mysterious adventure, known 
only to those concerned in it, under the name of 
the Mill of Usor, and which excited so much 
indignation at the time. If my memory does not 
play me false, the principal actor in this adven- 
ture was a young lawyer from the provinces, who 
had just been promoted to the magistracy in 
Paris, but whose name unfortunately I do not n- 
member, who narrowly escaped losing his posi- 
tion, and more than that .... his life!” 

As he uttered these last words. Luce sur- 
prised a rapid contraction on the old judge’s 
brows, but that was all. ... If Monsieur de 
Marsay had played any part in that mysterious 
adventure, he was evidently determined that the 
knowledge of it should remain buried in the 
past ! . . . Luce saw this also, but he did not 
try to put the old man to any further test, being 
convinced that he was not mistaken, and that 
the old judge of the Supreme Court, was no 
other, with thirty years added to his age, than 


48 


THE FROLER CASE. 


the young lawyer, De Marsay, who had been 
mixed up in the affair of the Mill of Usor, in 
which they had both nearly lost their lives. At 
that period, in spite of the distance which separ- 
ated a magistrate near the tribunal of the Seine, 
from a simple Inspector of Police, the two 
young men that death was on the point of unit- 
ing in the same tomb, had sworn an eterna^ 
friendship the very day when Jacques Laurent, 
the celebrated detective, who was then living in 
retirement, had saved them at the last moment. 
Since that time they had never met ; for the day 
following, Luce had been named Central Com- 
missioner of Police at Cayenne, where he 
remained for twenty years, and Monsieur de 
Marsay was sent away, in disgrace, a simple 
judge, to Clermont ; but, while our detective was 
forgotten at Cayenne, Monsieur de Marsay, 
thanks to the all-powerful protection of the 
Due de Gergy, president of the Corps Legis- 
latif, and godfather of his wife, was quickly 
recalled to Paris, where they gave him back his 
position as Juge d Instruction. 

It must be acknowledged that Monsieur de 
Marsay’s first thought was of his young com. 
panion in misfortune. On arriving in Paris he 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 49 

had hastened to his protector with the hope of 
interesting him in Luce’s behalf, but the sceptical 
old politician had at once begun by laughing at 
him, and as the young magistrate insisted, speak- 
ing of his gratitude, of dangers shared and sup- 
ported together, the duke replied : 

“ My dear boy, you are a simpleton, and I 
excuse you, because you have only just arrived 
from the provinces. Were it not for that, you 
ought to know that the influence of the President 
of the Corps Legislatif must not be exercised 
indiscriminately. ... In social life, my dear De 
Marsay, do not forget this : Everything gained 
by accumulated work, or through influence, has 
a relative value. When you demand this last 
means which you have not acquired by the 
former, it is onl}^ fair you should pa}^ the differ- 
ence ; I demand payment for my credit, and do 
not throw away my services. . . . For you it is 
a very different affair. You are the husband of 
my charming god-daughter, whom gossiping 
tongues go so far as to call my own daughter, 
and you have a claim on what influence I possess ; 
but beyond that I cannot go, and you must not 
ask me to do anything for strangers. . . .” 

The young magistrate, although he found 


50 


THE FROLER CASE. 


the godfather’s conversation slightly cynical, 
accepted the decision, and ended by forgetting 
Luce who, offended by his silence, ceased to 
write. . . . They never met again until thirty 
years later in Monsieur de Vergennes’ drawing- 
room : Luce, now a man in all the maturity of 
his fifty-two years, and Monsieur de Marsay, 
although still hale and strong, on the threshold 
of old age. If this long period of forgetfulness 
alone had come between the two men they 
might have been able, in spite of the social dis- 
tance which separated them, to exchange a clasp 
of the hand and speak of the pleasures of a past 
for which neither of them had cause to blush, 
although the ardent illusion of youth might have 
led them in former times to play with the honor 
and happiness of two powerful families. . . . 
But De Marsay had done more than forget. 
Under circumstances which will come to our 
knowledge later, he had allowed his heart to 
become hard and devoured by ambition, and had 
lent himself to criminal machinations which had 
plunged the family of Luce in grief, despair and 
poverty. . . . 

Up to this day. Luce had not been able to 
gather any proofs against De Marsay, and had 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


51 


absolutely refused to believe in his quiet; but 
the absolute silence the latter had affected during 
this interview in the Chief’s drawing-room, had 
opened his eyes, and at the moment he hardly 
entertained a doubt but that he had before him 
the villain to w’hom was to be attributed the 
ruin and dishonor of his people, and the episode 
of the diamond had ended by giving rise in his 
own mind to the gravest suspicions regarding 
the participation of the Judge in the daring 
murder of the Chief Detective. 

Promoted to the post which his ambition had 
for such a long time desired. Luce was all the 
more glad of it now, as it would enable him to 
discover the source of the odious plot hatched 
against his brother, and the authors of which, 
thanks to powerful influence, had managed to 
evade all his investigations. And then he had 
for so long a time believed in an impartial judg- 
ment from the Court of Assizes, that nothing less 
than the inexplicable conduct of his old friend. 
Monsieur de Marsay, was necessary to give rise 
to suspicions which his respect for the decisions 
of justice had made him stifle in his heart. 
Strange coincidence ! His enemies had promised 
themselves to disappoint him in his candidature 


52 


THE FROLER CASE. 


when the post of Chief Detective became vacant, 
but before they were even informed of the fact, 
a glaring imprudence on the part of one of them, 
a generous impulse on the part of Monsieur de 
Vergennes, had just conferred on Luce that 
power, all the more to be dreaded that it enabled 
him to act with almost uncontrollable liberty. 

Monsieur de Marsay was not laboring under 
any delusion regarding the danger of such an 
appointment, but his son-in-law’s decision had 
been taken and executed so rapidly that he had 
not had time to oppose it. He promised him- 
self, however, after Luce’s departure, to employ 
all his influence with Monsieur de Vergennes 
to make him alter his decision. Luce, on his 
side, who guessed his enemy’s thoughts, was in 
haste to be at liberty, so that he could hasten 
the publication of his appointment in the Mon- 
iteur Officiely which was issued every night, and 
thus render it irrevocable. 

In this singular situation of two men who had 
parted as devoted friends, and who met again 
after a separation of thirty years without ever 
having seen each other during that long period, — 
now mortal enemies until death, — w.e have been 
obliged to follow the development of their indi- 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


53 


vidiial sensations from the moment they found 
themselves confronting each other in Monsieur 
de Vergennes drawing-room ; read, so to speak, 
their looks and interpret their sentiments ; for 
this mute scene played by the two adversaries 
before the Chief of Police and his family, who 
were quite unconscious of what was passing 
before them, was the first act of the sad and 
mysterious drania to be unfolded in this recital. 

On parting, the two adversaries guessed pretty 
accurately the state of each other’s feelings ; 
above all, they were convinced that the struggle 
had already begun, and was to be continued 
without pity or mercy, and both were eager to 
give the first blow. 

For the moment, the appointment of Luce put 
an end to all discussion, and the new Chief De- 
tective received from the Chief of Police orders 
to put in the field the most shrewd of his blood- 
hounds, and not to spare himself, but to get as 
quickly as possible on the traces of Froler’s 
murderer. 

The perquisition accomplished in the interior 
of the Prefecture, and the explanations exchanged 
in the Chief’s drawing-room, had lasted a much 
shorter time than might have been expected, for 


54 


THE FROLER CASE. 


relieved from the insight into matters which we 
have been obliged to give in order to present to 
our readers two of the principal characters in 
this story, — Luce and Monsieur de Marsay, — the 
official meeting had not been prolonged beyond 
the time necessary to verify the researches made 
by the police agents, and to the few words 
exchanged on both sides relative to the finding of 
the diamond and the short war of words carried 
on between Luce and Monsieur de Marsay. 

At the moment when the new Chief Detec- 
tive was taking leave of Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes, the latter signed to Luce to follow him 
into his private office. There, after having as- 
sured himself that no one could overhear them, 
the Chief begged him to be seated, and began in 
an agitated voice : 

Luce, you have now attained the height of 
your ambition, but I fear that your elevation to 
this post, so long aspired to by you, may be the 
signal for my disgrace !” 

“ Oh ! Monsieur le Prefet .... for a mere 
act of justice that I have waited for for more 
than fifteen years ?....” 

“ You do not understand me. Luce ; allow me 
to explain. I have nothing to fear from your 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


55 


appointment, although the post was one eagerly 
sought for, and very high influence .... to 
name only one of your enemies, the Due de 
Ger9y . . . .” 

“ The President of the Corps Legislatif ?” 

“ The same. Although the highest influence, 
I say, has already been employed in advance to 
exclude you from the possibility of ever obtain- 
ing the position, still I am sure of the approval 
of the Minister of the Interior. It is not eight 
days ago since the conclusion of that little affair, 
which won for you such a brilliant success, 
where all the European police had failed, he told 
me that in order to prevent all complication, the 
decision I must arrive at when the time came 
for Froler to retire, must be to appoint you, he 
called an act of reparation. ... So you see, 
my dear Luce, I have nothing to fear from your 
appointment. Only, 3'ou are not aware that my 
position is being eagerly sought after by mem- 
bers of my own family.” 

“ Is it possible. Monsieur le Prefet ?” 

“ It is exactly as I say, my dear Luce.” 

“ And for whose benefit?” 

“ My own brother-in-law’s.” 


56 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“Monsieur Paul de Marsay, the solicitor-gen- 
eral ?” 

“ The same. His father, whom you have just 
left, destines him for a high position. ’ 

“ What age is he ?” 

“ About thirty-two years.” 

“Yes, that must just be about it. I remember 
the little Paul was eighteen months old when 
his lather dragged me into that fatal affair of 
the Moulin d'Usor, which has had such a disas- 
trous effect on my whole life.” 

“ What ! that young magistrate you spoke of 
a moment since? . . . .” 

“ Became your father-in-law.” 

“ But he did not seem to recognize you ?” 

“ That is true. Monsieur le Prefet .... it is a 
business which he and I must come to some un- 
derstanding about, and if the adventure .... 
but this is not the moment. . . .” 

“ You are right,” interrupted the Chief, who 
divined that they were treading on dangerous 
ground. . . . “ Let us return to the business on 
hand.” 

“ Solicitor-general at Trente for two years, 
and filling the same position in Paris,” solilo- 
quized Luce. “ Monsieur de Marsay must be 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


57 


rather difficult to please if he is not satisfied 
with his son’s advancement.” 

“ What 1 tell you is true, nevertheless ! and 
he has entered into a plot with the Due de 
Gergy, who refuses him nothing, to make him a 
Minister of Justice within two or three years.” 

“ Well, excuse my plain speaking. . . . but 
how can that affect your position ?” 

‘‘ That is what I am about to explain. Paul’s 
advancement has been so scandalous that it is 
difficult to think, for some time to come, of 
assigning him a more elevated position on the 
bench. Then the Due de Gergy cannot speak 
of him in the House as a keeper of the seals 
before he is proaireur general, which defers to a 
rather distant period the fulfillment of his 
ambitious projects. Now this is what they have 
resolved to do in order to get out of the diffi- 
culty. Although tradition and custom does not 
permit of the Solicitor-general being made 
Keeper of the Seals, it is very different when it 
relates to a Chief of Police.” 

“ Ah ! Now I begin to understand all !” 
exclaimed Luce. 

“ They have decided, therefore, that I am to 
hand in my resignation in the interests of the 


58 


THE FROLER CASE. 


family; Paul is to become Chief of Police in my 
stead until he can pass from the Boulevard du 
Palais to the Minister de la Justice, Then they 
propose to give me back my former position. 
Before confiding this project to me, the Presi- 
dent of the Corps Legislatif wishes to win over 
the Minister of the Interior to his side ; but he 
met with unexpected and determined opposition 
to his plan. ‘Never!’ said the Minister to 
him. ‘ I absolutely refuse to remove Monsieur 
de Vergennes from a position he has filled with 
so much skill to the satisfaction of every one ; 
this Chief has worked marvels during the ten 
years he has been there ; swindlers driven out 
of Paris, the faubourgs purged from the lawless 
crowd of ticket-of-leave men, all that impure 
world of bullies and depraved women pursued 
with the utmost rigor of the law, and the tran- 
quility of Paris assured both by night and day. 
Surrounding himself with a chosen band of 
employees, leaving no crime unpunished . . . . 
there, in a few words, is the work of this trusted 
official whom you ask me to remove, for 1 have 
no equivalent position to offer him, even would 
he accept such a compensation. It is impossible, 
my dear Duke. I would prefer sending in my 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


59 


resignation rather than deprive the country of 
his services .... etc.’ 

“ So you see, my dear Luce, I am well sup- 
ported by the Minister; but in spite of that, the 
Due de Ger9y refuses to look upon the business 
as hopeless. He came to me, begging me to send 
in my resignation, explaining his reasons for 
doing so, and on my refusing to comply with 
his wishes, did not hesitate to threaten that he 
would compel me to send in my papers and 
would conquer the obstinate opposition of the 
Minister. . . . Yesterday, my dear Luce, I did 
not fear him, but the last twenty-four hours has 
wrought a great change. . . .” 

“ How so. Chief ?” 

“You do not seem to comprehend what the 
consequences of Froler’s murder may be to me ?” 

“I understand that your enemies will certainly 
not remain idle, but they cannot in any way 
incriminate you on account of this crime.” 

“Yes, they will reproach me for not having 
secured the murderer ; with all the more reason 
apparently, that the crime was committed inside 
the Prefecture in the midst of police agents of 
every grade.” 

“ It is precisely this circumstance, and because 


60 


THE FROLER CASE. 


of the number of agents that were there, that 
you ought to be held innocent of any reproach 
of negligence or incapacity.” 

“ My enemies will have recourse even to the 
most unlikely actions ; you know it, Luce, where 
passions or interest are at play. Of course, they 
will not attack the force, nor you, you last of all, 
of whom Jacques Laurent has said that after 
himself you were the one detective with genius 
of the century ; but they will maintain that if I 
had not paralysed your efforts, by wrongly 
insisting on taking the direction of the search, 
the murderer would not have escaped. . . . 
You did not see the evil smile of my father-in- 
law when he spoke of the harm this escape 
might cost me. . . . How can I hold my own 
against the combined attacks of the press, my 
family and the Due de Ger^y ? At the first evi- 
dence of public excitement, I will receive 
orders to discover the assassin or send in my 
resignation .... and 1 dare not, do you hear. 
Luce? I must not leave the Prefecture of 
Police at this moment.” 

As he said these words Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes lowered his voice and glanced around 
him in an uneasy manner, as if he feared some 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


61 


spy might overhear what he was saying, while 
such a distressed look came over his face, and 
he turned so pale, that Luce was frightened. 

“What is the matter, Chief?” he said, with 
some emotion. 

“ I cannot tell you, Luce,” he replied. “ This 
secret, which concerns the honor, nay the life, of 
one of the oldest families in France, does not 
belong to me, and to divulge it would entail 
dire consequences. One morning, the Duchess 

de la M came here almost mad with grief, 

threw herself on my mercy, crying out: ‘Save 
me! Save us! Monsieur de Vergennes, or I 
will poison myself here before your eyes !’ The 
unhappy woman had a little bottle of prussic 
acid, which she held convulsively in her right 
hand, and which she could easily have swallowed 
before any one could have had time to prevent 
her .... What could I do? ... . Acting on 
my first feeling of compassion, — an imprudent 
thing for a man in my position to do, — 1 prom- 
ised, and for three months I have been secretly 
at war with two delegates and a part of your 
brigade. Luce, in order to avert an enquiry 
ordered by the Minister himself.” 

“And you succeeded. Monsieur?” 


62 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“ Perfectly, my dear Luce .... I may even 
add that I won the approval of those high in 
power ; of that I am certain. But I must succeed 
in arresting the murderer of Froler; if I do not, 
as you can very plainly see, 1 shall be dishon- 
ored and abandoned. . . .” 

“ It is always so with affairs of this sort ; a 
man may consider himself very fortunate if in 
case of failure you are not regarded as an 
accomplice.” 

“That is exactly what I dread. Luce. You 
understand, that at any cost, I must not give up 
my position as Chief of Police.” 

“You will not have to give it up, dear and 
honored master; let me call you this as a proof 
of the esteem and affection we all bear toward 
you.” 

“Thank you for your good wishes and sym- 
pathy, Luce ; but if FrolePs murderer is not dis- 
covered within forty-eight hours, public opinion 
will be against me, and you know that there are 
cases when the strongest power is obliged to 
yield to its demands.” 

“ It was not merely a wish I expressed. Chief, 
it was a certainty I meant to convey : you will 


A MYSTERIDUS ASSASSINATION. 


63 


not have to resign your position. 1 can promise 
you that much.” 

” And who is to accomplish this miracle? for 
it will be nothing less than a miracle which will 
keep me in my post with such powerful enemies 
against me. . . 

“I will!” 

“You, Luce!” said Monsieur de Vergennes, 
almost dumb with astonishment. 

“ Yes, Monsieur, 1 !” 

“Alas, my poor Luce, however great the con- 
fidence I place in your word, if you have not 
found the assassin by . . . .” 

The detective, who above all things wished to 
reassure the Chief so as to keep up his courage, 
decided on a bold stroke .... so he inter- 
rupted him with these words .... 

“The assassin! I have already discovered 
him!” 

Monsieur de Vergennes gave a bound and 
looked at the detective as if doubtful whether 
he was speaking seriously. 

“Yes,” continued Luce, before the Chief had 
time to recover from his astonishment, “ from 
the very first moment I guessed where the blow 
came from, and I would have had the murderer 


64 


THE FROLER CASE. 


arrested, if I had not considered that not having 
taken him in the act it was wiser not to secure 
him until I had got together such proofs that it 
would not be possible to deny his guilt. . . .” 

“ You are a very valuable man, Luce, and I 
I believe you, for I have never known you to 
speak falsely ; but what was the use of going 
through the form of making such a vigorous 
search, and, above all things, why wait until 
now before telling me ?” 

“ You understand too well the outs and ins 
of our trade. Monsieur le Prefet, not to be satis- 
fied with the few words I can say. We have 
not been alone one moment since the murder 
was committed, so it was necessary for the plan 
I had conceived that no one should suspect that 
I knew the assassion ; if they did, the villain 
would escape the punishment he so justly mer- 
its .... and remark this well, Monsieur le 
Prefet, that I dare not affirm that he may not 
even yet escape ; but if he does, it will be under 
certain conditions which I shall impose, and 
which he will have to accept. . . 

“ You alarm me. Luce. As far as I can under- 
stand, Froler’s murderer does not belong to the 
common category of professional criminals, who, 


A MYSTEEIOTTS ASSASSINATION. 


65 


as a rule, only seek for vengeance for previous 
condemnations. . . 

“ You are right, Monsieur le Prefet. If 1 can 
judge from the position of the guilty one, Froler 
has fallen a victim to a plot hatched in a high 
quarter, and the end of which I do not yet 
see.” 

“ And the name of this man ?” 

♦ 

“ I cannot divulge it !” 

“ What! not even to me ?” 

“ Least of all to you.” 

“ I am not very much surprised at your decis- 
ion, judging from the tone you have adopted.” 

“ I beg of you, Monsieur le Prefet, not to feel 
offended at my refusal. Suppose that the crime 
was in reality directed against you, by those of 
such high social standing that you could do 
nothing against them ?” 

“ My God, Luce, what is happening.? what do 
you mean ?” 

“ More than I have a right to tell you, Mon- 
sieur le Prefet .... Do you still insist?” 

“ No, Luce !” replied Monsieur de Vergennes, 
much moved .... “I divine, 1 foresee some 
terrible infamy behind all this. . . . You are 
right, it is better 1 should remain in perfect 


66 


THE FKOLER CASE. 


ignorance .... and I must trust to you, my 
friend, to defend me, if am indeed the one they 
intend to attack.” 

Have no fear on that score. So long as I am 
alive, they will never meddle either with your 
position or your person .... Allow me now 
to leave you, for I must, at any sacrifice, begin 
my work at once before anything transpires 
outside !” 

“ One word yet, Luce. Our conversation has 
deviated from the business on hand to such an 
extent that I was going to allow you to depart 
without confiding a most important matter to 
you.” 

“ I am ready to listen. Chief.” 

“ You know that my brother-in-law has led 
rather a fast life ?” 

“Yes. I know even of certain acts of his that if 
they had not been hushed up through the credit 
and purse of the old Due de Ger^y, might have 
conducted him to a very different position than 
that of Solicitor-general.” 

“ That is true ! Froler, who knew all about it, 
more even than I did, and who had divined the 
project of my father-in-law and the Due de 
Ger^y relative to the position I hold, was in the 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSIKATIOK. 


67 


act of preparing- a little statement regarding Paul 
de Marsay, destined to be submitted, at a given 
moment, to the proper authorities, so as to make 
his candidature a failure. . . 

“ That was only fair.” 

“Well, this statement, which Froler, from 
motives of prudence did not keep at the Pre- 
fecture, 3 ^ou must find the means of securing this 
very night in his own house, before his death is 
made public, and seals, as is the custom in the 
case of all Chief Detectives who die while dis- 
charging their duty, placed on his papers.” 

“ It shall be done within an hour.” 

“ I leave everything to you .... under any 
other circumstances, I would shrink from having 
recourse to such means to defend myself, and 
would have left my brother-in-law and his sup- 
porters to the infamy of their attacks, but I have 
explained to you why 1 cannot leave the Pre- 
fecture at this moment .... what misfortunes 
. . . . what deaths .... what irreparable ruin ! 
. ... If I were not there to watch and follow 
the enquiry step by step, trying to mislead them 
in their researches .... Ah ! it is a very terri- 
ble position to be in. Luce.” 

As he uttered these words. Monsieur de Ver- 


68 


THE FKOLER CASE. 


gennes dropped his head between his hands and 
remained for some moments plunged in deep 
thought. 

Meanwhile, the detective had risen to take 
leave of his chief .... precious moments were 
passing, and he had made up his mind to inter- 
rupt the meditations of the latter, when a light 
knock was heard at the door of the room. Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes arose with a start. 

“Let him in,” he said to Luce ; “ it is Sylvan, 
my secretary. I recognize his manner of an- 
nouncing himself when he has anything import- 
ant to communicate .... what more can he 
have to tell us?” 

The young man had just entered ; he was so 
pale and agitated that both the Chief and his 
subordinate uttered an exclamation of surprise. 

“What is the matter. Sylvan ? has anything 
more happened?” immediately demanded Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes. 

“ It is anight of crimes, Monsieur,” replied the 
newcomer ; “ almost at the same hour and with 
a dagger almost similar to that with which 
Froler was stabbed. Monsieur Petit Ledru, the 
lawyer, and Monsieur Trincart, the great con- 
tractor, were both assassinated in their beds, 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


69 


without the murderers leaving the slightest 
trace behind them. The Commissioners of Police 
from the two districts inhabited by the victims 
have made the necessary verifications and are 
waiting for Monsieur le Prefet in my office.” 

This new blow was so unexpected, — for Mon- 
sieur Trincart, Monsieur de Marsay’s father-in- 
law, was also Monsieur de Vergenne’s grand- 
father, — that the Chief of Police remained for a 
moment stunned. But he, having great strength 
of character, and being capable of rising to any 
emergency, quickly recovered his presence of 
mind ; his first thought was of his wife. 

“ Madame de Vergennes does not know any- 
thing yet?” he demanded of the secretary. 

“ Nothing, Monsieur le Prefet ! The Commis- 
sioners of Police have not communicated with 
anyone but myself. . . . But that is not all .... 
I have still to tell you 

And as the young man appeared to hesitate ; 

“Speak out, Sylvan,” said Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes, in as calm a tone as if it was a matter of 
indifference to him, “ this succession of crimes, 
which Fate seems to take pleasure in accumu- 
lating this particular night, is well calculated 
to upset the strongest mind, but hereafter 1 


70 


THE FROLER CASE. 


shall be the magistrate only, cold, impenetrable 
and skillful, the detective incarnate in his own 
person.” 

“About half an hour ago,” continued the sec- 
retary on a sign from the Chief to proceed, 
“your brother-in-law. Monsieur Paul de Marsay, 
as he was leaving the Mirlitons, and had arrived 
about the middle of the quay de la Megisserie^ he 
heard himself called by a young man, fashion- 
ably dressed, whose coupe was stationed close 
to number i8; this latter detail is of importance 
to remember. Supposing him to be an acquaint- 
ance, Monsieur de Marsay ordered his coach- 
man to stop, and descending from the carriage 
advanced to meet him without any feelings of 
doubt or suspicion in his mind ; at the same 
moment, four men, whom the coup^ had con. 
cealed from view, rushed at him, and after hav- 
ing gagged and bound him with the skill of men 
who knew their business, carried him into the 
stranger’s coup6, and started off at a quick trot; 
while this scene was being enacted, the latter 
had kept Monsieur de Marsay’s coachman at 
bay with a loaded revolver in his hand. 

“ This coachman, who happened to be an ex- 
police agent whom your brother-in-law had 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


71 


taken into his service on account of his anteced- 
ents^ seeing the quay deserted, had been careful 
not to make the slightest movement; but the 
coup^ which carried his master, had not arrived 
at the Pont Neuf before he followed in its track, 
determined to call for help at the first oppor- 
tunity which offered. 

He had not long to wait! Two hundred 
yards ahead, a small company of police agents 
were disappearing round the corner of the 
Louvre. Pascal (that is the coachman’s name) 
made an effort, got before the coup6, which he 
had never lost sight of, placed himself in front 
so as to prevent it from passing, and called to 
the little band for help, following up his cry by 
a certain whistle well known to police agents. 

“The police agents ran forward; the mysteri- 
ous coup^ stopped at the first summons, but a 
voice from inside, in a brief, imperious tone of 
voice, demanded an explanation of this unheard- 
of proceeding. ... In a few rapid words, Pas- 
cal stated his case, but had scarcely finished his 
speech when a gentleman stepped out of the 
coup^ and addressing the sergeant of police 
agents : 

“ ‘ Monsieur,’ said he to him, ‘ I am Don Per- 


72 


THE FROLER CASE. 


dinand d’Alpugar, Portuguese Ambassador. I 
could soon prove to you my diplomatic immun- 
ity from any interference on the part of the 
police, but I have heard what this good fellow, 
who, doubtless, has been partaking rather too 
freely, has said, and you are at liberty to con- 
vince yourself that no one is concealed in my 
coup6.’ 

“ A clear silvery laugh sounded from the car- 
riage as if in confirmation of the words of the 
ambassador, and the latter, having taken one of 
the lanterns down from the front of the coup^, 
so as to light up for an instant the interior of the 
carriage, where a young lady alone was to be 
seen, as if lost in a cloud of lace sprinkled with 
diamonds, resplendent in youth and beauty. 

“ She saluted the sergeant graciously with her 
fan, who bowed profoundly, the ambassador 
took a seat beside her, and the coupe lost no 
time in disappearing, carried along at a quick 
trot by the impatient thoroughbred. 

“The. most curious part of the affair is, 
Monsieur le Prefet, that Pascal persists in 
declaring that it was in that identical carriage 
that his master disappeared, and that he could 
not have been mistaken in the vehicle, as the 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


73 


quay was absolutely deserted at that moment ; 
the sergeant of police and his men, who had been 
stationed at the gate of the Louvre opening 
on the quay, entirely corroborated Pascal’s 
words, by insisting that no other private car- 
riage had passed them during the time they 
were there. This is what has been declared to 
me. Monsieur le Prefet, and I have repeated 
every detail faithfully on account of the singu- 
larity of the event.” 

“ Mystery ! always mystery !” murmured Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes . . . . “ Still two more assas- 
sinations whose authors have managed to get 
out of our way .... As to my brother-in- 
law !....” 

And do not let us overlook the strange 
coincidence,” interrupted Luce, that both vic- 
tims have been struck like Froler with a poig- 
nard. . . .” 

“ By the same poignard ” . . . . said Sylvan. 

“What do you mean?” demanded the Chief. 
“ I do not understand.” 

“ I mean, Monsieur, that both the lawyer and 
Monsieur Trincart have been killed by a dagger 
exactly similar in appearance to the one by 
which Froler was struck.” 


74 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“ That complicates matters,” said Luce 
thoughtfully. 

“Where are the daggers?” demanded Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes. 

“ I placed them on your private desk, along 
with the other by which Froler was killed, in 
order to compare them.” 

“ Follow me, gentlemen,” said the Chief, 
briefly. 

And lifting a curtain he led the way through 
a narrow passage which communicated with his 
official apartments. 

A very slight examination proved the correct- 
ness of the young secretary’s assertions : the 
three weapons had bades, large at the base, very 
long and slender, flame shaped, and solidly 
mounted with black buffalo-horn handles, in the 
centre of which was a slight groove running to 
the point, similar to that found in Malay dag- 
gers, and which is made to receive poison. 

This singularity immediately attracted Luce’s 
attention : he had lived in Guiana, and perceiv- 
ing a spot which had not been stained with 
blood, a sort of gummy substance, he took off a 
morsel with the point of his penknife and put it 
to his lips .... the others present, among 


A MTSTERI0IT8 ASSASSINATION. 


75 


whom were the two Commissioners of Police, 
watched him intently, with a curious interest and 
not daring to interrupt him. 

After tasting it, he spat out the substance and 
quickly rinsing his mouth with a little water 
taken from Monsieur de Vergennes’ carafe, he 
said in a low voice : 

Gentlemen, that is curare, one of the most 
deadly of known poisons, inasmuch as there is 
no antidote ; it is taken from the cobra de capello 
and the trigonocephales, the most dangerous ser- 
pents in the tropics .... the poison can be 
swallowed without risk ; the stomach eliminates 
it like any nutritious substance, by digestion ; 
but woe to the one who receives it through the 
bite of the serpent, or through a wound ; the 
poison passes into the blood and death is instan- 
taneous. The poison in this instance has been 
mixed with a little vegetable gum, which renders 
death a little less rapid, although not less cer- 
tain, for the gum must first be melted in the 
wound before the curare can be absorbed by the 
blood. Froler was thus able to live nearly half 
an hour after receiving his death blow." 

It can easily be imagined that all these tragic 
incidents had thrown the little band presided 


76 


THE FROLER CASE. 


over by the Chief of Police into a state of con- 
siderable perplexity. Each one asked himself 
what were the mysterious links existing between 
the three murders, committed at the same hour 
and with weapons so similar in appearance that 
it was impossible to distinguish between them. 
But their astonishment changed to actual stupe- 
faction by the absolute proof that they were 
going to acquire of the true connection between 
the three crimes. 

Luce, who had continued his examination, 
suddenly gave an exclamation of surprise, that 
for the moment made the onlookers fear that he 
had wounded himself with one of the weapons 
he was handling. 

“ In the name of Heaven, what has hap- 
pened !” exclaimed Monsieur de Vergennes, 
who had been absorbed in deep thought. 

“ Read !” replied the detective simply, hold- 
ing out the three daggers for inspection, with 
the three blades placed horizontally one above 
the other. 

The Chief of Police shuddered from head to 
foot. He had just read one word, terrible in its 
sinister laconism, engrossed across each blade : 
VENDETTA! 


A MYSTERIOTJS ASSASStNATIOlT. 


17 


Vendetta! that is to say vengeance! There 
was no longer any room for further doubt ! One 
hand had armed the three assassins in one com- 
mon end of vengeance, but whose was this 
hand ? and what mortal injury had it to 
avenge? There began the mystery that all the 
subtleties of reasoning had not been able to 
elucidate. . . . When the facts carry with 
them their explanation, it is necessary to act 
and lose no time in examining them under every 
form. . . . This was certainly Luce’s opinion, 
and for some moments he had shown evident 
signs of impatience, which Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes’ presence alone served to moderate. . . . 
What remained for him to do on this unlucky 
night amply justified his desire to withdraw. 
H e was walking backwards and forwards in a 
feverish state of impatience, when the Chief, who 
was explaining to the two commissioners the 
circumstances in connection with Froler’s 
death, noticed his agitation and understood the 
cause. He himself was in haste to obtain the 
private statement preferred against his brother- 
in-law, so he hastened to bring his recital to a 
close and present Luce as the new Chief of the 
Detective Force. After the usual compliments 


78 


THE FROLER CASE. 


had been addressed to Luce by the two Com- 
missioners of Police, the Chief added : 

“And now, my dear fellow-worker, you have 
only to go into the field ; three assassins to dis- 
cover and my brother-in-law to find ; you have 
your hands full .... As for you, gentlemen,’' 
he continued, addressing the Commissioners of 
Police, “ I must keep you here permanently, for 
grave events may come to pass during this night, 
and I shall have need of your assistance.” 

Luce had taken a rapid leave of Monsieur de 
Vergennes, and had already moved away, when 
he stopped and seemed to consider : 

“You wish to ask me something?” said the 
Chief, who noticed his hesitation. 

“ [ fear you will consider me very bold,” 
said the detective. 

“ Explain, and we shall see,” said Monsieur de 
Vergennes — then in a lower tone, so as not to be 
heard by any one but Luce — “You know there 
is nothing I would refuse you !” 

“ If it should occur to you,” hazarded the 
detective, “ to give me an assistant, I would beg 
you to consider whether it would not be useful 
in the interest of the service to choose one with- 
out delay? 1 have so many inquiries and 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATIoNo 


79 


researches to make in the case, that it is abso- 
lutely necessary I should have a reliable man 
whom I can send on any track I may deem 
advisable, while I am superintending matters in 
some other quarter, and he will meet with 
more ready obedience from the men if he 
were invested with the rank of sergeant.” 

“You are a hundred times in the right. I 
never thought of it ... . who would you name 
as best suited for this post, for you must have as 
your assistant one who understands you and in 
whom you have confidence.” 

“ What ! you will really allow me. . . . ” 

“ I insist on your naming your man.” 

“ Well, then, Monsieur le Prefet. I believe no 
one has a better right, or will better fulfill these 
duties than Heurtloup ; no police agent knows 
Paris, its gambling houses, drinking places and 
the ringleaders and participators in crime and 
vice, as well as he does. I do not say he would 
be of any value in following on the traces of any 
one in the higher social spheres, but when a 
crime has been committed there, the head which 
conceived the attempt generally belongs to the 
higher classes, and it is amongs^ the lowest 
dregs of society that we must look for the hand 


80 


THE FROLER CASE. 


which executed, and in this latter case, the man 
I propose to you is without his equal in the 
force.” 

“ Then he is the one I appoint,” replied Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes, holding out a slip of paper 
to Luce containing the promotion of his old 
comrade. “ Carry it to the official gazette along 
with your own.” 

Luce bowed and was advancing towards the 
door, when the chief recalled him for the last 
time : 

“ And the interdiction to leave the Prefec- 
ture? I shall raise it for everyone now, shall I 
not ?” 

“ I beg you not to do anything yet. Monsieur 
le Prefet, at least before my return, which will 
be before daylight.” 

“ Can I not make an exception in favor of my 
father-in-law ?” 

“ I would not attempt to advise. Monsieur le 
Prefet, but if one person passes, it is the same 
as if the order applied to everyone .... before 
morning all Paris will know that Froler has been 
assassinated in his office and that we have 
allowed the murderer to escape. . . .” 

“ That is enough ; no one shall leave before 1 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 8l 

see you again .... do you require a pass for 
you and your men ?” 

“ It is unnecessary, Monsieur le Prefet. I 
possess, as you know, a key of the secret passage 
which enables me to go out and in at all hours 
without being obliged to pass the sentinels." 

“ In that case, adieu ! and good luck." 

This time Luce did get out of the Chief’s 
office without being recalled. As he passed 
through the hall, were the men were lounging 
about, he signed to Heurtloup and three of the 
keenest of the detectives to follow him, after 
having, however, presented the former to all the 
men as their new Sergeant. Heurtloup could 
not realize his sudden elevation to a post he had 
never dared to hope for even in his most ambi- 
tious dreams; so he was profuse in his thanks to 
Luce, who, with the familiarity common to 
policemen, replied, as he bestowed a friendly 
slap on the shoulder : 

“ Enough of that, old boy ! this is not the 
moment for palaver. We must show what we 
can do, and quickly too. It is three o’clock in 
the morning, and before seven o’clock we must 
discover not only Froler’s murderer, but also 
those who dealt the blow to Messrs. Petit 


82 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Ledru and Trincart; as to the Chief’s brother- 
in-law, Monsieur Paul de Marsay, my opinion 
is that we will find him without the trouble of 
looking. Nothing will get it out of my mind 
that all this has been conceived by the one head 
and executed by the same hands.” 

“ By my faith, Chief, I have seen still more 
extraordinary things happen, so that nothing can 
astonish me. For instance, this very evening, in 
Monsieur de Vergennes drawing-room, when 
his young daughter found that diamond. . . 

Heurtloup never finished his sentence, a 
violent nudge from Luce’s elbow arrested the 
words on his lips .... but so that the three men 
who followed them might suspect nothing, the 
Chief Detective called out : 

“ Here we are passing the time in gossiping 
and allowing the precious moments to slip 
by. ...” 

Then turning towards the three detectives: 

“ Lupin !” said he to one of them, “ advance.” 

“ Here I am. Chief,” replied the agent. 

“ You must send these two men,” continued 
Luce, “ to reconnoitre, one in the street inhabited 
by Monsieur Ledru, and the other in the one 
where Monsieur Trincart lived, under any dis- 


A MYSTERIOUS assasshtatiok. 


83 


guise they choose, to gather all the information, 
gossip and reports which the assassination of 
these two men must excite when people begin 
to wake up in that quarter; they must begin 
with the public-houses, which will open in about 
an hour, and be careful to notice those coming 
and going, for if they are clever enough, they may 
get the chance of making a good catch. It is 
rarely that assassins do not come back to wander 
about, some hours after the crime, around the 
dwelling of their victim, to gather up the 
opinions and remarks of the crowd, and to learn 
in what direction suspicions lie. ... As for 
yourself, after having found out whether, by 
chance, Monsieur Paul de Marsay may not have 
returned home, you will rejoin these two men, 
going from one to the other, keeping a watch on 
any person they may point out to you, and be 
ready to come to their aid in case an arrest 
should be necessary. ... You quite under- 
stand *?” 

“ Yes, Chief.’' 

“ Very well, then ; here are twenty francs for 
you and the men to buy some refreshments, and 
when you think it desirable, to offer a treat now 
and then, and now, forward! You will give me 


84 


THE EROLER case. 


an account of all that has passed at half-past 
seven o’clock at my office at the Prefecture.” 

The three men started off at a quick pace 
and soon the noise of their retreating footsteps 
were lost in the distance. 

“ Come now, are you mad ?” then said Luce, 
turning to Heurtloup, who had remained stand- 
ing speechless in the same place. “ Why should 
you try and convey to these men, who have 
nothing to do with it, your impressions about 
the incident of the diamond ? Remember that 
in police affairs, tout se qui ne sert h rien est 
nuisibleJ^ 

“ Excuse me, Chief, but you see, this appoint- 
ment, which I so little expected, has completely 
upset my ideas .... it is over now, no one will 
catch me allowing my tongue to run too freely 
again.” 

“ That is right. 1 recognize my old comrade 
once more ! Well, now, what did you wish to 
say ? You can speak out, we are alone now, we 
are on our way to the house of poor Froler, 
twenty-five minutes’ good walk. Your reflec- 
tions will help me to pass the time.” 

And as he walked on Luce thought to him- 
* “ All unnecessary words are useless.” 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


85 


self : “Is it possible that.this old bloodhound of a 
Heurtloup comprehended the mute scene which 
was enacted at the Prefect's between Monsieur 
de Marsay and myself ? In that case, what 
would become of my last doubts ? For I cannot 
yet, in spite of what I have seen, pursuade my- 
self that my old comrade of XhQ Moulin d' Usor 
can have deliberately mixed himself up in the 
plot which cost me the loss of my brother.” 

Meanwhile, Heurtloup was not a little embar- 
rassed how to answer his old companion cate- 
gorically; his detective’s instinct had warned 
him intuitively that there was something of im- 
portance taking place independent of the official 
scene. He was the only one who had seen that 
the diamond had dropped from Luce’s pocket- 
book at the moment when the Chief’s young 
daughter had rushed forward to pick up the 
jewel. But he could go no further ; the rest of 
what he had to say was composed of reflections 
which had arisen in his own mind in connection 
with these events. It was thus that the old 
detective terminated his answer to his new 
chief. 

“Well, now for the reflections /'" insisted the 
latter. 


86 


THE FEOLER CASE. 


“ It would be more correct to say the ram- 
blings,” said Heurtloup. ... “ Do you really 

wish it, Chief? I will obey orders. Oh! it will 
not take me long, and more than that, there may 
not be any common sense in what I have got to 
say, but it is your own wdsh. . . 

“ Exactly, and I am ready to listen.” 

‘‘Very well then. Chief, not only, as 1 have 
already said, it seemed to me you were aston- 
ished to find your pocket-book empty, which led 
me to think it must be the diamond you were 
looking for, but also that there was the famous 
evidence of which you had just been speaking 
with an assurance which did not continue as 
soon as Monsieur de Marsay had been put in 
possession of his brilliant.” 

“ Continue .... what did you think then ?” 

“ Knowing what a complete mastery you exer- 
cised over yourself, and how little given you 
are to yielding to excitement without grave 
reasons, I thought that this diamond might have 
been a most important piece of evidence which 
escaped you, and with it, perhaps, the proof that 
you intended establishing on the strength of the 
jewel, on account of the place where you found 
it.” 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


87 


What do you mean by that ?” 

“ Dame^ Chief ! . . . All the doors of the Pre- 
fecture were closed by order before the assassin 
could have had the time to descend even from 
one landing ; in spite of that, he tries to leave 
by two different places of exit, and is obliged 
each time to take refuge in the interior of the 
building. ... We search the Prefecture from 
top to bottom without discovering a Soul ; then, 
suddenly introduced into Monsieur le Prefet's 
apartments, we find Monsieur de Marsay, his 
father-in-law, tranquilly installed in the drawing- 
room, chatting with the ladies, who had but just 
returned from the opera ; then it happens that 
the diamond, which 1 thought had escaped from 
your hands, belongs to this visitor. . . . Then, 
why should I conceal it from you, 1 found all 
that very dubious, and as I followed the different 
shades of tone in the conversation, I said to my- 
self i ‘ After all, it may only be a coincidence ! 
Even supposing the Chief did discover this dia- 
mond in the detective’s office near the murdered 
body of the unfortunate Froler, is that enough 
lo^give rise to the gravest presumption of ... . 
complicity against Monsieur de Marsay.’ ” 

These words, which were only as it were an 


88 


THE FROLER CASE. 


account of impressions experienced by himself, 
added to the already high opinion Luce had 
formed of the clear-sightedness of his old com- 
panion, and he congratulated himself all the 
more on having secured him as his immediate 
subordinate. 

“ You burn, my friend,” he said to him, “you 
burn ! ... it was, in fact, in Monsieur de Froler’s 
office that 1 found Monsieur de Marsay’s dia. 
mond.” 

“ Then we have the murderer safe ? . . . ” 

“ Not yet, for the old magistrate knows 1 
suspect him, and he is too clever not to have 
destroyed every proof of his culcability, either 
as a principal or as an accomplice .... it is this 
which we must see to this very night, after hav- 
ing arranged the business which is now taking 
us to poor Froler’s house. Something tells me, 
Heurtloup, that we are o^i the way to discover 
some frightful plot, which will lead us further 
than we think. What you have already so skill- 
full}^ discovered is of certain importance, if we 
are not mistaken. You see, 1 share your suspic- 
ions, and it does not happen every day that a 
Judge of the Supreme Court assassinates, or 
causes to be assassinated, a Chief Detective, for 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


89 


I cannot believe, until I have proof to the con- 
trary, that he dealt the blow himself ; but I fore, 
see something different yet, the very idea of 
which makes me shudder. . . 

“ What is it, Chief ? Can you not confide in 
me !” 

“ Can you doubt it, my old comrade ! This 
secret consumes me, and I wish you to know all, 
for I have chosen you as m 3 " alter ego, my right 
hand, in the terrible events which are about to 
break out, and to which the three assassinations 
of this night are but the prelude. Froler has 
certainly paid for others ; the lawyer and Trin- 
cart have paid an old debt as the word Vendetta 
engraven on the blades indicates. It is impossi- 
ble to say how many are to follow yet, and there 
is no human power can avert it but myself.” 

“ You, Chief?” 

“Yes, I ! but will 1 have the courage, the 
strength? . . . have I even the right ? There are 
times when justice is not on the side one would 
suppose. . . . You look at me curiously, as if 
you thought I had gone mad? But no, my dear 
Heurtloup, I am in full possession of all my 
senses, and your astonishmenFwill be heightened 
when you hear what 1 am going to tell you. But 


90 


THE FROLER CASE. 


I cannot confide this terrible and mysterious 
secret to you here in the street,; one word, one 
name above all might be overheard, and then I 
would not be astonished if we were both put 
out of the way.” 

“ Here we are, at Froler’s,” continued Luce. 
“ I have the keys, let us go up and as soon as 1 
have executed by mission we can talk together 
in safety. Our unlucky chief was a widower and 
lived alone ; no one will interfere with us while I 
tell you all 1 wish you to know.” 

Here Luce rang at No. 2o of the Rue des Mou- 
lins, gave his name to the concierge, who was in 
the habit of seeing him come to see Froler at all 
hours of the night, and a few moments later the 
two men entered the rooms that had been occu- 
pied by the late Chief of the Detective Force. 

“ Brrr !”.... said Heurtloup when his com- 
panion had lighted a lamp, “ it gives me an 
uncomfortable feeling coming into this room 
that poor Froler is never to see again.*’ 

“ He will return once more before leaving for 
his last resting-place,” replied Luce in a tone of 
sadness. . . . Then, selecting a small key he 
easily recognized out of the bunch he held in his 
hand, he went straight to the desk where his 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


91 


predecessor had been in the habit of keeping his 
private papers, and opened it. He had not long 
to look before finding what he desired : A large 
envelope, on which was written the following 
words : 

“ A ffair of Paul de Mar say P 

On the right hand corner of the envelope the 
word “ Confidential ” immediately attracted his 
attention. It was what he had come to look 
for! Without touching any of the other papers, 
which he religiously respected. Luce took the 
bundle and putting it into the satchel, which he 
carried attached to a strap, seated himself near 
his companion, who had been watching this scene 
with curious eyes, but without attempting to ask 
the least explanation. 

“ Now, my dear Heurtloup," said Luce without 
further preamble, and i n a concentrated voice 
that was new to the old detective, “ 1 am going 
to make you acquainted with events which I 
very much fear have led to, not to say caused, 
the terrible drama, the first scenes of which have 
been played under our eyes. 

“ And at first, how did I come to know Mon- 
sieur de Marsay, Monsieur de Vergennes' father- 
in-law? It is thirty years now, since Monsieur 


92 


THE FROLER CASE. 


de Marsay, thanks to the Due de Gergy’s influ- 
ence, from a simple judge at Marseilles, was 
UiimG.d J^uge d Instruction at Paris. On coming 
to take possession of his new post, he found in 
his coup^ some fragments of a letter which led 
him to believe that a crime had been committed 
at the Moulin d' Usor above Saint Rambert, and 
that the dead bodies had been thrown in the 
lake which gives its name to the mill. Urged by 
love of his profession, he hastened to Paris, and 
asked the Chief of Police, an old college com- 
panion, for a detective skillful enough to aid him 
in his investigations. I was chosen for this offi- 
cial service and left with Monsieur de Marsay 
for Dauphiny. 

“ What can I say to you, my dear friend ; we 
had thrown ourselves in the midst of a family 
drama with which we had nothing to do, and in 
which Monsieur Tournier’s honor, who was 
then First President of the Supreme Court, but 
since dead, was at stake. We were outrageously 
outwitted in our own field by two seeming 
peasants, who played their part to perfection, 
and who were assisted by Froler, the same 
whose life has ended so miserably to-night, 
whom the President had sent to completely 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


93 


throw us off the right scent, and, if necessary, 
make away with us altogether if we succeeded 
in discovering what Monsieur Tournier was so 
anxious to conceal from the eyes of the world. 
To be brief, after taking a narcotic which they 
induced us to drink, we were thrown in a dun- 
geon in the Chateau d’ Usor, and it would have 
been all over with us if I had not had the foresight 
some days before to address myself to the famous 
Jacques Laurent.” 

“The old Chief Detective, under whom we 
began our career?” ^ 

“ The same ! It will be a long time before the 
Secret Police will see his equal ; he was, you 
may remember, the presiding genius of the 
police force. He arrived at the Moulin dl Usor 
disguised as a peddler, and it was mere child’s 
play for him to fool the peasants as well as 
Froler, and having discovered our retreat, he 
wrote to the Due de Gergy, who arranged the 
affair with Monsieur Tournier, and one fine day 
we were set at liberty, ashamed of our foolish 
enterprise, and, above all, of having been so com- 
pletely outwitted. 

“ In spite of that, we had worked and suffered 


94 


THE FROLER CASE. 


together, and had sworn eternal friendship for 
each other/' 

“ This, then, was what you alluded to this even- 
ing before Monsieur de Vergennes and Mon- 
sieur de Marsay ?*' 

** Precisely. 1 wished to refresh the latter's 
memory, to ascertain whether he had forgotten 
me during the long years which had elapsed, or 
whether it was with a deliberate purpose that he 
refused to recognize me. I was soon able to 
acquire the certainty that this last opinion was 
the one 1 must adopt. You will see very soon 
why Monsieur de Marsay, Judge of the Supreme 
Court, did not wish .... nay, could not recog- 
nize me. 

Some time after our return from Dauphiny 
Monsieur de Marsay received notice of his 
appointment to the judgeship of Clermont-Fer- 
rand. It was tantamount to a disgrace, but sim- 
ply as a mere form, for six months after, as I 
explained to Monsieur de Vergennes, his position 
as Juge d' Instruction at Paris was given back to 
him, whereas I was forgotten and left at Cayenne 
for fifteen years to fill the post of Central Com- 
missioner that had been given to me." 

“ And you have never discovered the true 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


95 


secret of the business that hurried you away into 
Dauphiny ?” demanded Heurtloup, whose curi- 
osity had been awakened by Luce’s recital. 

“Never!” replied the latter. “Jacques Lau- 
rent knew everything ; nothing could be kept 
from that devil of a fellow ; but he must have 
been bound to silence by an oath, for he has 
always been impenetrable on this subject. . . . 
I am now coming to the painful part of my story, 
and you will see how small causes often engender 
terrible results. 

“During the few months which preceded my 
departure for Cayenne, few days passed that 
Monsieur de Marsay did not come to see me and 
give me the assurance that he would not forget 
me in my exile, and that he would never rest 
until he had me recalled, which his family influ- 
ence could easily enable him to do. 

“ One morning, the beginning of a fatally 
unlucky day which I would like to blot out of 
my life, this magistrate met my young brother, 
who had just terminated his studies, on one of 
his periodical visits. They naturally began to 
talk of his future, and Monsieur de Marsay pro- 
posed to me to get him placed in his father-in- 
law, the wealthy banker, Trincart’s office. With 


96 THE FKOLER CASE. 

Steady work and honorable conduct, a brilliant 
career would lie before him in this house, my 
friend said ; the present time was the era of 
financiers, and he regretted for his part, that he 
had not chosen this career, where his great for- 
tune would have enabled him to secure a position 
of importance and opulence at once. ... I 
cannot explain why this idea did not seem to 
strike my fancy, and I was on the point of refus- 
ing the offer, however advantageous it might 
appear at first sight. Ah ! why did I not listen 
to this secret presentiment ! what ruin, what mis- 
fortune and sufferings we might have been 
saved ! Look here, Heurtloup ; there are in the 
human organism special cords which vibrate at 
coming in contact with purely moral impressions, 
and warn you, either for good or evil, each time 
when you are about to take an important step in 
your life .... and you always do wrong by 
refusing to listen to this inward monitor, \yhether 
expressing its meaning by intuition or presenti- 
ment, for it nearly always would aid us in avoid- 
ing serious grief. . . . How shall I be able to 
tell you all ! My young brother, Charles Lefevre 
(for Luce is a name that I assumed when enter- 
ing the Detective Force), was admitted into Trin- 



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A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


97 


cart’s office with a salary which we had never 
dared to hope for, and when I left for Cayenne 1 
felt no anxiety on his account, for his principals 
had assured me that in a very short time he 
would be promoted to one of the highest posi- 
tions in the house. Everything, indeed, seemed 
to meet with our wishes, for eight months after- 
wards I received the double news that Charles 
had been made manager in the house of Trincart 
& Co., and that he was to be married to the 
sister of the head cashier, Ernest Dutheil. 

“ You can judge of my delight, for I loved the 
boy, who was twelve years younger than myself, 
and whom I had brought up from his infancy. 
My father had lost all his fortune when Charles 
was still very 3 ^oung. I was then at the Ecole des 
Beaux ArtSy where the year before I had gained 
the second prize at Rome and was sure of 
obtaining the first prize that year, but had to 
give up my pencils and brushes in order to earn 
my living and support our family, and it was in 
this way that in despair I accepted a position 
in the Secret Police, and was able to allow 
George to go through his college course — that 
door so necessary to pass for every function and 
everv employment in France. 


98 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“ I asked for leave to be present at my 
brother’s marriage and was refused. Monsieur 
Tournier was still alive, and his hatred towards 
me was all the more obstinate because he could 
do nothing against Monsieur de Marsay ; that is 
how the weak must always suffer for the strong. 
This was like a real fatality, for I think I might 
have divined the state of affairs, and that there 
would have been time even yet to avert the 
terrible events which were to be accomplished 
in two years. Trincart had speculated, with his 
friend the Due de Gergy, President of the Corps 
Legislatif, on the improvements of Paris, and 
they both passed for having amassed a fortune 
amounting at the very least to forty millions of 
francs. The Due de Gergy, who was in all the 
secrets of the ministry, warned his partner of the 
changes decided on by the Board of Public 
Works, and when an order was issued condemn- 
ing any property for public improvements, it 
regularly happened that a month or so before 
Trincart had bought up the greater part of the 
property that was to. be destroyed. The bank 
was a mere blind to conceal these speculations. 
Yes, I would have seen through it all if I had 
gone to Paris .... but, alas ! it is with fate as 


A MYSTERIOTTS ASSASSINATION. 


99 


with the waves of the sea, you cannot turn aside 
their course. 

“ What remains for me to tell you, my old 
friend, surpasses all that villainy of man could 
devise. 

“ I felt almost happy at Cayenne thinking over 
the good fortune of my brother and waiting 
patiently for the hour of my recall. One thing, 
however, disturbed me. Since my departure 
from France I had only heard once from Mon- 
sieur de Marsay. Had he forgotten me com- 
pletely in the midst of the whirl and excitement 
of Parisien life? or had his appointment as 
Judge of the Supreme Court placed him at such 
a distance above the detective that he wished to 
break off our acquaintance in advance, so that it 
might not be renewed on my return to Paris ? 
. . . I was altogether at a loss what to think, and 
wounded in my self-love, I imitated the reserve 
which had been manifested toward me. 

“ One day a convoy of prisoners was an- 
nounced. The Colonel in charge was to deliver 
them into my hands, and previous to their 
embarkment, according to custom, a list of these 
unfortunates was brought to me by one of the 
keepers, who handed it to me and withdrew. 


100 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Scarcely had he gone out when I glanced over 
it to see the number of convicts they were bring- 
ing us ... . but two names seemed to stand 
out in relief under my gaze, as if written in 
letters of fire. The paper fell from my hands and 
I fainted. But this weakness only lasted a very 
short time, one would have said that in my 
swoon I had preserved the consciousness and 
energy that I needed to display in this awful 
situation. ... I lost no time in again opening 
my eyes, and pulling myself together with an 
effort, picked up the paper and again examined 
it with the vague hope that 1 had been mistaken. 
. . . Alas ! it was not so ... . the list was 
headed by these two names : 

‘“Charles Lefevre, manager for Trincart & 
Co.’ 

“‘Ernest Dutheil, head cashier of Trincart 
& Co.’ 

“ The ‘ Column of punishment ’ bore with 
regard to each one of them : twenty years’ hard 
labor, ten years’ suspension, five years’ surveil- 
lance. 

“ That of ‘ Crime committed,’ bore : Forgery. 
Theft 1 

“Judge of my despair, Heurtloup, on read- 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


101 


ing these lines, which left me no doubt regard- 
ing the identit}^ of the condemned men. I did 
not hesitate one single instant in deciding that 
Charles, whose honesty and principle I could 
depend upon, had been led away by his brother- 
in-law .... and my thoughts immediately 
reverted to our aged parents, who could not be 
expected to survive such a shock. . . . 

‘‘In any case, what was to be done? what 
line of conduct ought I to pursue with regard to 
them? Ought I to receive them as common 
malefactors whom I know nothing about? . . . 

“ I was making a violent effort to collect my 
ideas, when I noticed a common sailor rowing 
backwards and forwards before my dwelling, 
keeping close to the shore and throwing furtive 
glances into my garden without daring to land 
and enter. 1 saw that he wished to speak to me, 
perhaps even he had been sent secretly by the 
prisoners. I came forward quickly, signing to 
him to approach, which he did without delay. 
I conducted him to my office, where we were in 
no danger of being disturbed by any one. Once 
there, he drew off his woolen cap, and ti.king out 
of it a voluminous missive, handed it to me. 

“ My heart was beating violently; there was 


102 


THE FROLER CASE. 


reading in it for several hours. . . . ‘ No doubt/ I 
said, ‘ a few lines will be sufficient reply to this, 
but 1 cannot give you an answer immediately.’ 

“ ‘ That does not signify, Monsieur,’ said the 
good fellow ; ‘ I have obtained permission to 
spend the day with my brother, who has pur- 
chased a farm near here, and I will come again 
before returning to the ship.’ 

“ Most fortunately, the difficulties attending 
their lodging obliged me to defer the reception 
of the convicts until the following day, and I was 
able to read the letters sent me by my father, 
mother, the unfortunate Charles, his advocate, 
and some friends of the family. 

“ It was one unanimous cry of innocence in 
favor of the two unfortunate men. It had been 
impossible to find an advocate in the courts of 
Paris who would consent to act for the prosecu- 
tion in this affair. After having examined the 
charge, — a monument of falsehood combined 
specially to ensure the condemnation of the 
accused, — the procureur general, a friend of the 
Due de Gergy, had been obliged to insist on 
some one fulfilling the office. Trincart had to be 
saved from an accusation of fraudulent bank- 
ruptcy, and also the President of the Corps Leg- 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


103 


islatif, who would find his credit and honor con- 
siderably tarnished by the fall of his friend. 

“ For five or six years they had been heavy 
losers on the Bourse, where they had been 
speculating heavily, having sometimes a differ- 
ence of eight or ten millions to pay,'when all at 
once they saw the abyss opening under their 
feet. Instead of stopping, they endeavored to 
repair their losses by still wider speculation, but 
fate was against them, and very soon they were 
reduced to making use of the money deposited 
in the bank. To save themselves, they were 
obliged to simulate a theft of five or six millions 
gradually effected during a period of eight or ten 
years by their employees ; they had either to 
adopt this course or to allow Trincart to appear 
before the Court of Assizes, which would cause 
ruin and dishonor to an entire group of closely 
allied, powerful families, including the President 
of the Corps Legislatif. 

“ They decided on adopting the first course, 
and the duties of Charles and the unfortunate 
Dutheil imihediately marked them out to these 
wretches as being the two on whom the accusa- 
tion would first fall. They had their books 
secretly recopied by the hirelings of the Duke, 


104 


THE FROLER CASE. 


showing that they ought to have in tlie bank a 
balance of fourteen million seven hundred and 
ninety-two thousand six hundred and seventy- 
five francs and thirty centimes, while in realit}'^ 
only about four millions were to be found. 

“ Ten millions deficit was not possible, even in 
ten years, on the part of model employees to 
whom no vice could be attributed, so they 
accused them of speculating on the Bourse with 
the stolen money. 

“ As Charles, in his position of manager of 
Trincart & Co., attended to all the business of 
the house, and Dutheil was commissioned to act 
for the Duke, it was sufficient to establish their 
guilt when there was no appearance on the 
copied books of any of the heavy operations car- 
ried on by Charles for the house, and by Dutheil 
on the Duke’s account as a client of the bank, 
and so the farce was played ! ... the absence of 
any mention in the books indicated that the 
operations carried on by the two young men had 
been on their own personal account .... and 
they were irretrievably lost ! . . . 

“ Yet, as I have said only a moment before, 
everything did not go smoothly for the plotters. 
The Bank of France expert chosen to examine 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


105 


the books, after having proved the irregularities, 
declared that the ink and caligraphy inspired 
him with the strongest suspicion of foul play ; 
the books appeared to him to have been recently 
tampered with, and in spite of the enemies he 
had to dread, this honest fellow persisted in his 
assertion. 

“ Besides, the accusation did not hold water; 
a hundred times Charles had been seen with his 
employer on the Bourse, making under his eyes 
and with his approbation, the largest operations. 
But a condemnation was necessary, and they 
obtained it by having the accused remanded to 
another session, were they secured a verdict of 
guilty from the hands of a picked jury. 

“ When the sentence was read which con- 
demned the unfortunate young men to twenty 
years imprisonment at hard labor, there was 
great excitement through the court-room, both 
judge and jury were hooted, and the great 

banker R who had been present at the 

trial, wrote a letter the following day to the con- 
demned men, which he caused to be printed in 
all the Paris papers and throughout the whole of 
France. It was as follows: ‘ Gentlemen : I have 
followed your trial with the attention it merited. 


106 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Remember, whenever the moment arrives that 
you are able to escape from Cayenne, in which 
you will have the assistance of all honorable 
minded men, that I have two positions as head 
cashier to offer you — without security — in our 
London and Vienna houses. Meanwhile, I beg 
to inform you that I will honor any draft, what- 
ever the amount may be, that you may wish to 
draw on account of salary, for I consider you, 
from to-day, as forming a part of our personnel^ 
and in the enjoyment of unlimited leave with 
complete pay.’ 

“You can judge of the effect produced by 
such' a letter, emanating from one of the great- 
est bankers of the day. 

“ Now, can you guess who the judge was who 
presided at this sad affair?” 

“ I confess that. . . .” 

“ It was Monsieur de Marsay.” 

“ Impossible ?” 

“ Yes. I said as you did, it is impossible ; and 
yet it was the case; and what is more, when the 
second jury, shaken by the inconsistencies of 
the accusation and the numerous proofs in favor 
of the accused, seemed undecided as to what 
course they ought to adopt. Judge de Marsay, 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


107 


with an infernal skill, which the counsel for the 
defence gould not answer, went over one by one 
all the arguments of the accusation, and com- 
manded the jury to bring in a verdict of guilty 
on the twofold charges of forgery and theft!” 

“ And now, can you guess who was the fore- 
man of the jury in this terrible business ? It 
was Monsieur Petit Ledru, notary of the Due 
De Gergy.” 

“ The same who was assassinated this night?” 

“ Yes, he who has paid his debt this very 
night.” 

“ What do you mean by ‘ paid his debt?’ ” 

“ What ! Do you not understand ?” 

“ No, I confess I don’t.” 

“Well, observe these singular coincidences 
and explain them if you can. Froler, whom I 
have not spoken of yet, arrested Charles and 
Ernest Dutheil, on the complaint of Trincart, 
although he knew them to be innocent and could 
have given them a chance of escape, and he is 
assassinated this very night with a dagger bear- 
ing the word Vendetta engraved on the blade ; 

that is one Trincart is the principal 

author of this conspiracy and perishes this night 


108 


THE FROLER CASE. 


in the same manner, and with a dagger bearing 
the word Vendetta; here we have two! 

The notary, Petit Ledru, takes the lead in the 
jury, who were wavering in favor of the con- 
demned. On leaving the court the same fate 
awaits him ; the same dagger and the same word 
Vendetta ; there we have three. 

“Judge de Marsay presides at both trials 
with revolting partiality, although no one is 
more convinced of the innocence of the two 
young men, and if for the moment he escapes 
the dagger, it is perhaps because they only left 
him the alternative of stabbing Froler, or being 
the fourth victim ; they abduct his son under 
such conditions that it is possible he may never 
see him again. And as I have told you, I ver}^ 
much fear that the jury and all the persons who 
have been mixed up in this unhappy business 
will meet with their fate one after the other. 

“ But whose is the hand that strikes? Whose 
is the head which points out the victims? We 
are bound in honor to discover this, and I am in 
terror that we shall find ourselves one fine day 
face to face with my brother and Ernest 
Dutheil .... and then, what shall we do, tell 
me, my old friend? We, the representatives of 


A MTSTERIOTJS ASSASSINATION. 


109 


social, halting justice, always ready to bow 
before power, subject to error .... when we 
are in presence of an individual justice, the rep- 
resentatives of which demand in their turn an 
account from the villains who struck them in 
their honor, family, and interests? For I have 
forgotten to tell you the terrible consequences 
of the sentence of the Court of Assizes. My 
father and mother died of grief " . . . . here 
Luce’s voice faltered, and a deep drawn breath 
showed Heurtloup to what degree the rough 
detective was suffering in recalling these painful 
reminiscences. . . . After a slight pause, Luce 
continued : 

Poor Charlie ! we were all so fond of him ! 
However painful this return to past events may 
be, you must know all, my old friend, so that 
you may be in a position to support me, to 
advise, for I, to'o, at times, can think of nothing 
but vengeance, vendetta ! vendetta! . . . This 
word is written in letters of flaming fire in my 
brain, and twenty times I have been on the 
point of throwing up my position and devote 
my time to avenging my people. Do you know 
that since her husband’s departure for Cayenne, 
Fanny, my poor brother’s wife, has never been 


110 


THE PROLER CASE, 


seen. What can have become of her, with her 
little daughter, then only seven years old. . . . 
She was without any resources, for justice had 
wrested from her all her little fortune, in order 
to pay the expenses of her husband’s trial. . . . 
She was too high principled to fall, too proud 
to beg. . . . My God ! my God ! what can have 
become of her? . . . Perhaps she sought for 
forgetfulness and repose in death !” 

All that you tell me, Chief, is very terrible,” 
said the worthy Heurtloup, who up to this 
moment had been unable to articulate a word 
from emotion . . . . “ but you did not tell me 
what became of your brother and Dutheil ?” 

“ Why do you not address me in the old famil- 
iar way ? . . . my new position has in no way 
changed my feelings. I do not know, m 3 ^self. 
After I had read the letters brought me by the 
sailor, and was persuaded of the innocence of 
both the unfortunate fellows, I concluded that 
in order to be of use to them, it was better that 
no one should suspect the ties that bound us to- 
gether. ... I wrote a long letter with a double 
meaning, but which I knew Charles would under- 
stand, and gave it the same evening to the sailor, 
who took charge of it, and the next day 1 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


Ill 


feigned illness in order to avoid receiving the 
convoy of prisoners ; the meeting in public 
would have been more than I could bear. 

“ It is useless to relate to you our life at Cay- 
enne. The hours are passing and we must deter- 
mine on a line of action before daybreak. Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes expects us and we must 
keep our appointment with him. ... I am 
coming now to the only interesting point for 
you : the escape of Charles and his brother-in- 
law from Cayenne.” 

“ Then they did escape ?” 

“ In less than a year after their arrival, thanks 
to the banker, their friend, who had sworn to 
himself to effect their deliverance from the infer- 
nal life of the convict prison. He had contrived 
to open friendly communication with some of 
the attendants commissioned to superintend the 
convicts. . . . Ah ! gold is a great power. 

“ The banker, R. . . . had written to his corres- 
pondents at Cayenne, who bought ingots of gold 
and silver from the mines, not to neglect any 
means to assist the two prisoners in escaping 
from their painful position ; he gave them carte 
blanche as to money and the sum to be expended. 

“ Charles and his companion very soon experi- 


112 


THE FROLKR CASE. 


enced the effect of their friend’s recommendation 
. . . . they received through the keepers themselves 
all that they could desire, and every one, includ- 
ing even the director of the prison, did what they 
could to soften the misery of their position. . . . 
Six months had not passed when they made 
them leave off the chain and placed them to 
work on a plantation. From that moment their 
escape was only a question of time. 

“ One evening they received a message to go 
down to the coast a little below the Isle du 
Salut ; a steam launch was waiting for them and 
conveyed them on board a small steamer char- 
tered expressly for them to New York, with 
orders to land them wherever they desired. In 
case they did not wish to return to Europe, the 
captain of the steamer was to give them a draft 
for a hundred thousand francs, payable at sight, 
in any part of the globe, at any bankers. 

“I learned some time afterwards through the 
banker’s agent at Cayenne, that they had gone 
in the direction of Australia, and that is the 
last I heard of them. . . . That is twelve years 
ago. Some time after, I was recalled to Paris. 
This long silence had ended by making me 
believe in their deaths, for Charles was too fond 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


113 


of me to leave me without news, and he could 
have written to me in Paris without any danger, 
when the triple assassinatio'n of this night and 
abduction of Paul de Marsay, in which it is diffi- 
cult for me not to recognize their hand, proves 
to me that for the last ten years they have been 
preparing everything for the supreme hour of 
their vengeance ! and that hour has struck ! 

“ 1 understand Charles’ silence now, in arro- 
gating to himself this role of dispenser of justice ; 
he and his brother-in-law entering into a strife 
with society which will defend itself, he did not 
wish to drag me along with him in the terrible 
retribution which awaits them if they are appre- 
hended .... They have staked their own 
lives in the game they have engaged in, but 
Charles did not wish to risk mine. 

“This, my old friend, is the terrible secret 
which has been consuming me, and which I had 
to confide in some one ; it seems already as if it 
weighed less heavily on me now that I have 
been able to open my heart freely to you. You 
see in what a terrible position I find myself, for 
we must always return to this : What are we to 
do ? How can I reconcile the exigencies of my 
position with my affections .... can I, in one 


114 


THE FROLER CASE. 


word, remain Chief of the Detective Force now 
that I know the perpetrators of the three assas- 
sinations and whom* my duty exacts I should 
deliver up to justice.” 

“ To which ?” replied old Heurtloup. “ Have 
you not fully demonstrated to me only a few 
moments ago, that there are two sorts : that 
which serves the Due de Gergy, Trincart and 
other powerful villains who play with the honor 
and lives of others, if it happens to be necessary 
to conceal their own crimes ; or the other which 
emanates from the wounded consciences of hon- 
est people. If I must confess the truth, I shall 
employ the strength my new position gives 
me to protect your brother and his companion 
against their own imprudence, and without it 
being necessary for you to come forward. I will 
be there, in order to divert the attentions of our 
agents from the track where Charles Lefevre 
and Ernest Dutheil may be found .... 

“ What ! that is your way of reasoning, and 
you would do that for me?” said Luce, over- 
come with grateful emotion by this mark of 
affection from the old detective. 

“And why not. Luce?” replied Heurtloup. 
“ We do not serve each other in mere words ; for 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


115 


me, I only see two innocently condemned men, 
your father and mother dead of despair, and 
your sister-in-law and her daughter wandering 
about without bread or shelter, and then I put 
to one side the justice which prostitutes itself at 
the feet of the powerful, the justice of the De 
Gergys and the Trincarts, to follow the true 
justice, the justice which is with your family and 
the numerous victims these wretches have sacri- 
ficed to their ambition and the concealment of 
their crimes. . . . So, it is agreed, we are going 
to act as counter police, and turn back our own 
agents from the right track." 

“We shall have a good deal of difficulty in 
succeeding, for the authorities will be displeased 
at this series of assassinations committed on the 
same night, and should a negative result ensue, 
another will fill Monsieur de Vergennes' place, 
which will lead to grave complications." 

“ How is that?" 

“ That is a secret which has not been confided 
to me, but from the little I have heard, I under- 
stand that the Chief is in a position somewhat 
similar to ours, for he is working to avoid an 
inquiry ordered by the Procureur General him- 
self, and the result of which might be to cause 


116 


THE FROLER CASE. 


the dishonor of one of the oldest families in the 
faubourg.” 

It would be singular if this business had any- 
thing to do with ours !” 

“ I have had something like a presentiment of 
it myself. . . . For the last twenty-four hours 
we have lived in an atmosphere of mystery 
sufficient to disconcert the most skilled. As for 
myself, I only wish for two things : to save my 
brother and Dutheii from the terrible situation 
they are in, for whatever we may say, we live in 
a well regulated society, which does not permit 
of personal vengeance, and if they are taken, 
they must end on the scaffold .... and, also, to 
save Monsieur de Vergennes, who has allowed 
me to discover that retaining his position as 
Chief of Police was almost a question of life and 
death to him. Then these three assassinations 
are of such importance, on account of the social 
positions of the victims and the manner in which 
they have been committed, that if we do not 
search others will get in advance of us, and if we 
do not discover the guilty ones, others will ; .once 
the affair gets into the hands of the court, and 
that will be before midday, we will be put aside, 
and the judge will then engage the men he is 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


117 


in the habit of employing and in whom he has 
confidence, and we, consequently, will be left 
out of the whole affair and unable to afford any 
assistance to my brother and Dutheil. 

“ Without taking into consideration,” reflected 
Heurtloup aloud, “ that the identity of the three 
daggers and this devil of a word. Vendetta, 
repeated on each blade, will prove to the court, 
as it does to us, that the blow comes from the 
same hand, and that the three affairs will be put in 
the hands of the same magistrate, which would 
be a serious matter — apart from this annoying 
circumstance, each case might have been given 
to a different magistrate, which would have so 
complicated matters that we would not have 
much difficulty in rendering it absolutely incom- 
prehensible.” 

“ Pray Heaven that the case does not fall into 
the hands of Monsieur leGuillemat. That magis- 
trate has a keen scent in such matters, which 
may overthrow all previous calculations; he has 
sometimes those intuitions of genius which en- 
ables him to succeed where every one else would 
fail.” 

“ Before everything else, we ought, I think, to 
find your brother, and induce him to leave 


118 


THE FROLER CASE. 


France with his brother-in-law immediately. 
Escaped convicts come back here for the pur- 
pose of assassinating their accusers, and judges 
would make their case so clear that all hope of 
escape would be hopeless. . . . With your mind 
at rest on that point, we will be more at liberty 
to exert our brains to avert the suspicions of the 
magistrate falling on them.” 

At this stage of the conversation. Luce, who 
had been mechanically turning over the leaves of 
the statement which Froler had compiled against 
Paul de Marsay, could not restrain an exclama- 
tion of surprise : 

“No more doubt on the subject!” he ex- 
claimed. It is he!” 

“Of whom are you speaking?” demanded 
Heurtloup. 

“ Listen,” replied Luce. 

And he read : 

“ Copy of the note addressed by me to Monsieur de 
Marsay s father : 

“You comprehend all the gravity of the affair. 
Forgery means the Court of Assizes for your 
son. You see that I am not afraid of speaking 
plainly. The influence of the Ducde Gergy can 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


119 


easily procure the post of State Councillor. 
This evening, at midnight precisely, for the last 
time, I shall expect you without fail, in my office 
at the Prefecture at the time mentioned. Yield ! 
Yield! 

“(Signed) Froler.” 

“ What can be the meaning of all that 

“ Do not interrupt me, listen to the end: 

And he continued to read : 

“ Answer of Monsieur de Mar say : 

“ Monsieur: You are holding the knife at my 
throat .... at twelve o'clock to-night, I shall 
be in your office at the Prefecture de Police ; be 
good enough to send away your people so that 
no one may overhear the shameful terms which 
you constrain me to accept .... you see that I 
also do not fear to speak plainly ; but do not 
think to get the better of me by withholding the 
proofs. If I am to be forced to extremities, I 
shall not draw back before any scandal. So 
yield 1 Yield I 

“ (Signed) De Marsay." 

“ Now, do you understand,” said Luce, as he 
finished reading, “ how these two letters throw 


120 


THE FROLER CASE. 


a light on the situation? . . . You need not be 
a very clever logician to deduct from that what 
has come to pass. Paul de Marsay, whose ex- 
penses are enormous, for the 3^oung gentleman 
spends from a hundred and fifty to two hundred 
thousand francs a year, and that has not proved 
enough, finding himself one day in the grasp 
of a creditor, — you see the threat of a prosecu- 
tion at the Court of Assizes in Froler’s letter — 
has taken it into his head to commit a little for- 
gery. Complaint has been made to Froler, as 
people often do who are ignorant of the proper 
legal steps to take in such cases, and he, glad of 
the chance, has held back the document under 
pretext of making the father pay for it; the lat- 
ter, informed of the transaction, has given to the 
utmost of his ability to save his son from the 
consequences of his evil conduct, and thus begins 
the first act of that fatal drama. Froler, having 
accepted the money for pa^mient of the forged 
paper, finds it absolutely necessary either to 
restore it or pay the money, but he has informed 
Monsieur de Marsay that he will only give up 
the forged paper when he is appointed Council- 
lor of State. Yesterday morning, poor Froler 
said to me in relation to this, while he rubbed 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


121 


his hands gleefully : ‘ This time 1 have secured 
it, and whatever influence 3 'Ou have, let it be 
exerted now in your favor, it is time to look 
after my succession.’ His succession was indeed 
to be open, but not in the way he expected.” 

“ So it must have happened either that the 
Due de Gergy’s patience was exhausted, or that 
his influence was not powerful enough to raise 
a detective to the position of Councillor of State, 
but what is certain is that Monsieur de Marsay 
kept his appointment, but without the appoint- 
ment of Councillor in his pocket; then what 
happened ? I can imagine the scene as if I had 
been present. The old judge, who would sacri- 
fice his life for his good-for-nothing son, begged, 
implored, entreated Froler, who remained inflex- 
ible ; lie had got it into his head to wear the robe 
of office this time, and not for anything in the 
world would he allow this occasion to escape 
him. 

“ At last, tired of begging, at stooping so low, 
almost on bended knee to a detective, the old 
man stood erect and adopted a different tone ; he, 
also, had come to Froler, with a fixed determin- 
ation ; he threatened in his turn. If it must be 
so, then his son would be prosecuted, but he 


122 


THE FROLER CASE. 


had the detective’s letter, and in less than five 
minutes he would have him arrested for trying 
to levy blackmail ; his son-in-law, Monsieur de 
Vergennes, would soon effect that much. On 
hearing these words, I can fancy Froler reply- 
ing in a mocking voice: 

“ ‘ As you choose. Go, my dear sir, I shall not 
hinder you.’ 

“ And that was his sentence of death .... the 
old man would look dark, determined .... and 
the blow was struck. He became an assassin to 
save his honor, then secured the forged paper, 
and made himself a thief for the sake of his son !” 

“Do you know. Luce,” said Heurtloup, who 
had been listening to every word with amaze- 
ment, “you would have made a splendid advo- 
cate! You have described that scene in a way 
that reminds me of those gentlemen at the 
theatre.” 

“ Thank you for the compliment, my old 
friend. You see we have got one of Froler’s 
murderers. With these two letters and an affi- 
davit relative to the diamond, the most stubborn 
jury could not hesitate to condemn. There is 
only one thing I cannot understand : it is the 
exact resemblance between the poignard he 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 123 

V. 

made use of, with those which meted out death 
to the other victims of this night.” 

“ Chance, perhaps.” 

“No. Chance never brings about such complete 
similitudes ; the same blade, same handle, same 
graven word, Vendetta, and above all, that 
groove which I recognized as containing the 
presence of curare, that terrible poison of the 
tropics. To judge from the weapons and the 
manner in which the crime was committed, it is 
easy to divine an association of people who 
avenge themselves, and the victims have made 
me think immediately of my brother and Ernest 
Dutheil. But what I cannot understand is the 
fact of Monsieur de Marsay forming a part of 
this association, and the possessor of a dagger 
which certainly was not made in France. Per- 
haps we shall discover the indirect influence of 
Charles and his brother-in-law, but for the 
moment, no amount of reasoning can enable us 
to arrive at the exact truth.” 

“ At the same time, there is one obscure point 
which is now quite clear. ... It is very evident 
that Monsieur de Marsay is Froler’s murderer. 
If necessary, if we have a serious matter on hand, 
such as effecting the release of your brother, who 


124 : 


THE FROLER CASE. 


one day may be arrested in spite of my efforts to 
avert the storm brewing over his head, we may 
be able to make use of these letters, and say, as 
Monsieur de Marsay did : ‘Yield! Yield!’" 

“ No, my good fellow, we must only trust to 
the watchful superintendence which we are 
about to organize; you have still illusions at 
your age? After all, what are detectives . . . . 
only simple instruments .... they would force 
us to deposit our documents in the keeping of 
the Court, that same night they would disappear 
for ever, and the game would be at an end." 

“ You think he would dare to get the start of 
us in that way !" 

“ My dear fellow, we would hardly have made 
him acquainted with the fact that these letters 
were in our possession, before he would be with 
the Procureur General, who married his youngest 
daughter, and then return to Monsieur de Ver 
gennes, husband of the eldest .... and then 
everything would come to pass just as I have 
said." 

“Why did he not adopt that course with 
Froler ?" 

“ Why, simpleton that you are, the case is 
very different. In the first place, it concerned 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


125 


his son, which is a very different matter from a 
son-in-law, and then neither one nor the other 
wou’d have dared filch the papers; besides, 
Froler would have cried out like the very devil 
if he had been arrested, and nothing would have 
kept him quiet, not even the value of the forged 
note. You may hush up an affair between 
functionaries, but when a tradesman is mixed up 
with it, it is no longer the same thing. . . . 
Believe me, Heurtloup, the one thing to do is to 
watch over my brother and his companion, for it 
depends on us alone to save them from going one 
day, sooner or later, to leave their heads on the 
Place de la Roquette.” 

“ Listen, Luce. 1 have an idea.” 

Well, what is your idea?” 

“ What are you going to say to the Chief 
when we return ?” 

“ To Monsieur de Vergennes ?” 

“ Yes, for we are not much more advanced 
than when we left the Prefecture .... what we 
do know, it is impossible to confide to him.” 

“ You are right. What we do know we must 
keep to ourselves ; but I have sworn to Monsieur 
de Vergennes that he will not have to leave the 


126 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Prefecture de Police, and I must keep my 
word.” 

“Is he threatened, then, from other quarters?” 

“ No, he has enough without that ! you know 
what the Press is, and what power public 
opinion has in Paris. The Chief was not mis- 
taken ! Any one can divine the effect which 
would be produced by the announcement that 
three assassinations had been committed this 
very night, one within the walls of the Prefect- 
ure, and the abduction of a magistrate, with the 
police reduced to confess that they had been 
unable to lay hands on any of the guilty parties ; 
add to that the sensational notes from the 
reporters, the leading articles in the more seri- 
ous papers regarding the efficiency of the 
detective force in Paris. 

•“ For a long time past we have been trying to 
enlighten the Government on the evil influence 
brought to bear on the service of the Prefecture 
de Police, and the events of the night once more 
prove us to be right. 

“ You know what the consequences will be. 
There will be only one cry through all Paris, and 
we cannot expect the Chief to bear up against 
this general clamor! If, at or before eight 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


127 


o’clock to-morrow morning we cannot send a 
note to the papers conceived as follows : ‘ The 

assassins have been secured,’ the Minister of the 
Interior, in order to protect himself and retain 
his position, will dismiss Monsieur de Vergennes 
by saying to him : ‘ What I am doing now, my 
dear fellow, may seem senseless, but we must 
satisfy public opinion;’ and the new Chief will 
make haste in his turn to trample on the Chief 
Detective, in order to have it said of him : ‘At 
last we have a Chief of Police with some go in 
him ; that’s the sort of man we want at the head 
of the force.’ It would do no good, of course, 
neither would it lead to the discovery of the 
guilty, but it would keep Jacques Bonhomme"^ 
quiet, who on retiring for the night would say 
to his wife : ‘ These policemen, if one did not 
give them a lesson now and then. . . .’ ” 

“ Then Monsieur de Vergennes is lost?” 

“ Yes, if we cannot save him.” 

“ What do you think of doing ?” 

“So far, I cannot think of- anything. . . .1 
made an appointment with him for half-past 
seven o’clock in the morning, so as to give him 
time for reflection, but I confess that I see no 
* The typical Frenchman. 


128 


THE FROLER CASE. 


means of getting out of it . . . . but can you not 
suggest an idea ? . . . 

“ I can, perhaps, suggest where we might find 
one !” 

“ Let us have your idea then.” 

“ Suppose we go and consult the man who for 
twenty-five, years has been the veritable leader 
of the police in France, and from whom plots, 
crimes, assassinations, nothing has been able to 
escape, in fact, our old Chief, Jacques Laurent, 
under whom we first served.” 

“ You are right, a thousand times right !” 
exclaimed Luce ; “ he is the only man who can 
help us out of this difficulty. How was it I never 
thought of that before .... we have lost a 
great deal of precious time here.” 

“ Console yourself ; it was just as well you 
should have informed me of what you have done, 
so as not to look too awkward before him, and 
then, although he may have kept up his habit of 
early rising since his retirement into private 
life, we could not very well have presented 
ourselves at his house in the middle of the night.” 

“ What o’clock is it now ?” 

“ Four o’clock.” 

“ Then we have three hours and a half to 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


129 


spare ; it is time we set about finding some 
means to ward off the danger threatening us, if 
such a thing is possible. . . . Come, let us set 
off for the Rue Lepic.” 

A few minutes later the two detectives, their 
elbows held well into their sides, were on their 
way to the heights of Montmartre. 

It was there that the old octogenarian, Jacques 
Laurent, late chief of the detective force, lived 
alone with an old housekeeper, he who during two 
generations and four governments, the Restora- 
tion, the Monarchy of July, the Re'public, and 
the Second Empire, had filled all Europe with 
his exploits. 

They related marvellous tales of which he was 
the hero, and his memoirs, if he had chosen to 
write them,’ might have contained the secret 
history of the first half of this century. 

One day the Austrian Ambassador at Pans 
received information from his government that 
four conspirators, who were plotting against the 
life of the French Emperor Francis, had taken 
refuge in the capital of France. The detective 
force was instantly warned, and four days after- 
wards, Jacques Laurent addressed a note couched 
in the following terms to the Austrian Embassy : 


130 


THE FROLER CASE. 


The four individuals mentioned have never 
left Vienna: they are hiding, concealed by the 
concierge, in a cellar of the third house to the 
left of Joseph Strass, and are to fire on the 
Emperor as he enters the cathedral to celebrate 
the anniversary of the Empress Marie-Therese.” 

The information \vas found to be strictly cor- 
rect on all points, and the four conspirators were 
seized at the very moment they were preparing 
to throw their infernal machine through the 
opening of the cellar on the Imperial cortege. 

On another occasion, an unfaithful employee 
of the Bank of England had stolen, it was said, 
a plate for one hundred pounds sterling, with 
the different seals of the signatures that are 
affixed, and managed to keep them from Satur- 
day until Monday morning. But this space of 
time had sufficed to enable an impression to be 
taken, so perfect that the forgery was not dis- 
covered until several years had elapsed, and 
then only in consequence of the plate having 
been destroyed by order of the Directors. 
Then, at the expiration of a certain time, it was 
remarked with astonishment that four times the 
amount of bank-notes of this series had been 
returned than had been issued ; but astonish- 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


131 


mentwas changed into stupor when it was found 
impossible to distinguish the false notes from 
the true. They suspected with reason the hon- 
esty of one of the higher employees ; but after 
the most minute researches, it was impossible to 
discover the guilty party. Despairing of the 
case, and at the failure of the English police, the 
Bank addressed itself to the Prefecture of Police 
at Paris, requesting that search might be made 
in their city, for it was supposed the forgers 
had taken refuge in France. Jacques Laurent 
left for London incognito, and consulted with 
the Board of Directors regarding the measures 
to be taken. The affair had been kept secret ; 
he advised, on the contrary, to publish the num- 
bers of the forged notes in the home and foreign 
papers, to noise the matter abroad as much as 
possible, and then to appear as if they dropped 
taking any further interest in the matter. 

Some days afterwards an old Jew dressed in 
the Turkish costume had opened a shop in one 
of the lowest streets of the great city. “ Money 
of every description exchanged. Ingots of gold 
and silver bought. Antiquities and curiosities 
of all kinds purchased ’ — such was his sign. 

Five muscular young fellows and a member of 


132 


THE FROLER CASE. 


the London Detective Force passed their time 
smoking and drinking in the back shop, which 
communicated with a sort of cellar furnished 
with a solid door. 

It was Jacques Laurent who had organized 
his trap. 

The same day, a gentleman came to offer an 
old silver bowl for sale ; the old jew asked him 
to pass into the back shop to be paid, and on a 
sign, the five men took hold of him and placed 
him in the cellar — that made one. While wait- 
ing for the real culprit, Jacques Laurent amused 
himself by clearing London of some of its 'most 
dangerous malefactors. At last, before a week 
had passed, a stranger drove up to the little 
shop, and descending from his carriage asked 
for a pair of Turkish slippers, valued at two 
shillings (about fifty cents). 

“ Not very clever, my good fellow,” thought 
Jacques Laurent ; “ you are going to offer me a 
bank-note in payment.” 

He had scented his prey ! 

The stranger drew from his pocket-book 
which seemed stuffed with notes, a bank-note of 
one hundred pounds (five hundred dollars) to 
pay the two shillings. At the look Jacques 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


133 


Laurent gave liim, the forger, for it was he, 
turned to fly, but the door did not open from 
inside except to those who were in the secret. 
He turned back and rushed at his adversary, 
dagger in hand, but in a very short time he was 
disarmed and thrown by Jacques Laurent alone, 
and was soon sent to rejoin the fifteen culprits 
who had been already caged. 

The English Detective was only there to 
legalize the arrests. 

In eight days the Chief Detective of the Pre- 
fecture de Police in Paris had caught fifteen of 
the most dangerous characters in London, who 
for many years had mocked at the efforts of the 
English police to capture them, including the 
famous forger whom, it was discovered, had 
been a manager in the works where the plates 
had been made. 

The Board of Directors of the Bank of Eng- 
land handed a note of a hundred thousand francs 
as reward for his services to Jacques Laurent, 
and the great detective distributed it, without 
distinction, among the agents in his service, with- 
out keeping one farthing for himself. 

It was one of his principles that the police 
ought never to conceal anything, the most ex- 


134 


THE FHOLER CASE. 


tensive publicity turning always in its favor. 
Thus, in the affair of the English Bank, publicity 
had brought about the result of causing every 
one to refuse bank-notes bearing the incriminat- 
ing numbers, and naturally the forger had to look 
out for some seller of bric-a-brac in one of the 
slums of London, having the appearance of a 
receiver of stolen goods, to try and pass off his 
notes on him. But as there were in Lortdon 
thousands of these sort of shops kept by people 
who were on their guard, Jacques Laurent had 
disguised himself as an old Oriental jew, dirty 
and sordid in appearance, persuaded that in his 
embarrassment of choice, the forger would be 
more likely to apply to him, for in his twofold 
character of Israelite and Turk, he ought to be 
— according to the reputation given to these 
people — more accessible even than others of his 
class to shady transactions. 

The success of the experiment had proved him 
to be right. 

Tall, solidly built and with the strength of a 
Hercules, which had often been the means of 
enabling him to hold his own against over- 
whelming odds, Jacques Laurent possessed 
besides a deep insight into the workings of the 


A MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION. 


135 


human heart, and he always proceeded by the 
most simple and natural means to make his most 
important and dangerous captures. . . . ‘'Was 
that all?” often asked his adversaries. Well, 
yes, it was only that, but, like the egg of Colum- 
bus, it had to be discovered, and above all suc- 
ceed, for Jacques Laurent never failed. 

Such was the old Chief Detective whose 
advice our two friends were g'oing to ask in the 
terrible and trying position in which they found 
themselves placed. 

Having arrived at the head of the Rue Lepic, 
Luce rang at the door of the isolated house 
inhabited by the old man. 

“Who is there?” demanded the old house- 
keeper, through a small opening. 

Luce gave their names and qualifications. 

“ Eh ! come in, come in,” said the joyous voice 
of the old master of the house, who had just got 
up .... “ Come in ; what good wind has blown 
you here at this early hour to the hermit of 
Montmartre ?” 

“ He is in good humor,” whispered Luce ra- 
pidly to Heurtloup .... “We may hope! he 
will help us out of our difficulty. . . . But, above 
all things, for I know his whims, look as if you 


136 


THE FKOLKR CASE. 


were paying him an ordinary visit .... not 
one word before he questions us !” 

“ I understand, Chief.'’ 

The door was opened wide, and Jacques Lau- 
rent, tall, straight and solid as an oak in spite of 
his ninety years, his features lit up by a kindly 
smile, held out both hands to welcome them. 



PART SECOND. 

A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 

Vendetta ! 

On that particular morning, Don Ferdinand d’ 
Alpujar, the Portuguese Ambassador, was hold- 
ing a little reception of intimate friends, num- 
bering about ten, of the leading people in Par- 
isian society. There were present the Due de 
Dampmart-Conti, renowned for the magnificent 
stud of horses he kept ; the two brothers Trem- 
neuc, whose ancestor had been at the fight at 
, Trente in the land of Saint-Cas, great hunters, 
great gamblers, and great wrestlers, as all 
Bretons of high lineage are; Hubert de la Vil- 
lantrois, captain in the navy ; Don Alvarez de 
Castro, Portuguese noble, fifty times a mil, 

[137] 


138 


THE FKOLER CASE. 


lionaire and an intimate friend of the ambassa- 
dor ; his younger brother, Emmanuel de Castro, 
who was counted the best swordsman in Paris; 
Paul de Marsay, the fashionable Solicitor-Gen- 
eral ; Andr^ de la Saulze, an indefatigable travel- 
ler, who had engraved his arms with the iron 
point of his staff on the highest glacier of the 
Himalayas. 

It was the first time Paul de Marsay had been 
present at one of these hebdomadary reunions of 
the ambassadors, so much sought after in the 
select circles of Paris. There were never more 
than twelve invitations given, and no one was 
admitted who could not trace his descent from 
the Crusaders. The sons of merchants, of manu- 
facturers and contractors, had tried every means 
to gain a footing in the house, but the doors had 
remained hermetically sealed for them, so that 
an invitation to one of Monsieur d’ Alpujar’s re- 
unions was equivalent to a patent of old and pure 
descent. 

When Paul de Marsay had received his invita- 
tion through Emmanuel de Castro, his intimate 
friend, it had not been obtained without a good 
deal of difficulty, for in Portugal, they think as 
much of the mother’s family as the father’s, and 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


139 


Paul’s mother, Madame de Marsay, was a Trin- 
cart, a name which, apart from its vulgar origin, 
had been pretty well smirched in the financial 
world during the sinister histories we are ac- 
quainted with ; but Emmanuel de Castro, who 
attached the greatest importance to his friends 
being invited, laid so much stress on the Salic 
law and played his cards with so much skill and 
discretion, that Monsieur d’ Alpujar, who did not 
wish to pass judgment himself, put the question 
to the vote among some of his intimate friends, 
and Emmanuel gained the unanimous vote of the 
ten present less that of the master of the house, 
who remained strictly neutral. 

These ten persons formed the kernel of the 
reunions ; they were perpetual guests. Only 
two new guests were invited each week. 

Paul de Marsay had naturally been in ignor- 
ance of the species of ballot his name had been 
submitted to, and had been greatly elated on 
receiving the invitation of the noble ambassador. 
It was a consecration of nobility that he less than 
any others could afford to hold in distaIn, for in 
spite of all the fictions of the Salic law, the Fau- 
bourg Saint Germain had never pardoned h'is 
father for having introduced into the old family 


140 


THE FROLER CASE. 


of De Marsay one of the name of Trincart, so he 
had firmly resolved that when he married, he 
would purify his escutcheon by a fresh graft, 
taken from one of the oldest families in France ; 
nevertheless, he was in no haste to do so, being 
satisfied to wait in order to justify his high aims 
until he had gained the important post of Minis- 
ter de la Justicey to which position the Due de 
Gergy was making strong efforts to have him 
appointed. 

x\nd then there was in the life of this young 
man — whose instincts were naturally good, and 
who had, above all, a tender heart — qualities that 
the example of old Trincart and the sceptical 
teaching of the Due de Gergy, who had never 
hidden from him that the said Trincart was only 
a father in partibus extra .... had not contrib- 
uted not a little to extinguish, there was I say 
in his life, an idyll which, like a bright oasis in 
the desert, refreshed both his heart and soul, in 
the midst of the feverish existence and corrup- 
tion that the imperial atmosphere was spreading 
over all Paris. 

About six years before the time of which we 
write, chance had led him to the ''Lilas;" the 
desire, no doubt, to smoke a good cigar after 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


141 


dinner in the midst of solitude, having something* 
to do with the matter. It was Sunday and a 
holiday. Night had come. Gay songs and joy- 
ous bursts of laughter were heard on all sides ; 
the fancy occurred to the young spendthrift to 
mingle with the gay crowd and find out the 
cause of all this light-hearted gayety which 
excited his envy. 

He dismissed his coachman and groom, telling 
them that he would find his way back to Paris 
on foot or take a cab, and went in the direction 
of a restaurant-garden, brightly lighted, from 
which shouts of delight could be heard. 

Here he found assembled five or six families 
of workmen, — fathers, mothers and children, — 
seated at different tables, all working their jaws 
at a tremendous rate; they had now arrived at 
the dessert and vin ordinaire, freely mixed with 
seltzer, passed merrily from hand to hand ; the 
men hummed a prelude to the concert which 
was to follow, the peculiarity of the prelude 
being that every one chose his own air, pro- 
ducing an effect which was, to say the least of it, 
peculiar. The women, with heightened color, 
laughed boisterously as they leaned back in their 
chairs; while the children, accustomed to dry 


142 


THE FROLER CASE. 


bread and the meagre pittance of homely fare, 
quarrelled over the remains of the repast that had 
been abandoned by their elders, stuffing them- 
selves at the same time with custards, tarts and 
sweetmeats (candies). 

A joyous feast of the humbler working classes 
— who can only afford to indulge themselves from 
time to time, — wliich, after awakening a smile, 
brings tears to the eyes of the man with a heart 
open to sympathize with the hopes and sorrows 
of others, and capable of realizing that those of 
these poor disinherited ones who wish to do 
honor to their business and bring up their 
families respectably, are scarcely ever able to 
enjoy these moments of indifference and forget- 
fulness more than two or three times a year. 

Paul de Marsay had given a glance around 
for an empty place to seat himself, but all were 
occupied, and he was going to retire, when a 
loud voice call out : 

“ Come now, children, sit closer up here, and 
make room for this gentleman.” 

Paul de Marsay turned round at the sound of 
plates being noisily moved, thanked them as he 
nodded courteously, and seated himself at the 
far end of the table, where a space had been 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


143 


cleared for him, and asked for all that was 
necessary to make a cup of tea, which he intended 
making for himself. 

The master of the establishment on seeing a 
young man of distinguished appearance and 
fashionably dressed enter his restaurant, had 
left his other duties for the purpose of waiting 
upon him himself, and the others present, 
especially the women, looked at him with that 
simple admiration which the lower working 
classes profess for those whose superiority they 
instinctively accept. 

Paul de Marsay was undoubtedly one of the 
most attractive and handsome young men to be 
seen, having a fine figure, rather above than 
below the middle height, and although slim in 
appearance, the picture of health and strength. 
. . . He inherited also from his mother a beauty 
of rare perfection for a man, which never failed 
to captivate the attention of women. Paul de 
Marsay was aware of this, but was not in the 
least vain, for he was neither a fop nor an 
imbecile, although on account of his peculiar 
surroundings he was both unscrupulous and 
unprincipled. 

His presence had, at first, occasioned, if not 


144 


THE FROLER CASE. 


coldness, at least a certain restraint, which put 
a check for the moment on the frank gayety 
which had attracted him. But when they saw 
him pet the children, and call in a travelling toy 
merchant, whose small stock he soon reduced, to 
the great delight of the little ones, every voice 
concurred in pronouncing him a gentleman of 
the proper sort, and when he threw twenty 
francs to the merchant, refusing to accept any 
change, there arose a concert of eulogy which 
although discreetly uttered, managed to reach 
his ears. The ice was broken. 

Some insinuated that he must be, at least, a 
lawyer’s clerk, unless, indeed, he was one of the 
employees of the Grand Magasin du Louvre. 

Paul de Marsay could not repress smiling 
inwardly at these amusing suppositions, but he 
was sufficiently quick witted not to undeceive 
these good people. This opinion besides served 
other projects which he had been vaguely form- 
ing for the past few moments, and which was 
another reason for leaving them in their ignor- 
ance. 

Almost facing him was a beautiful young girl 
of about eighteen years of age, with a pure 
child-like complexion, who since his arrival had 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


145 


attracted his attention. Magnificent pale brown 
hair naturally waved round a perfectly formed 
oval face, a straight finely chiselled nose, a mouth 
as fresh as an opening pomegrante, displaying 
teeth of ivory whiteness ; dark eyes shaded by 
lashes and eyebrows of the same shade, a singu- 
larity rarely met with in a blonde and which 
added to the attractiveness of her appearance ; 
fresh rosy cheeks, which at the slightest smile 
discovered to view two charming dimples, com- 
pleted a picture of such perfection as might 
have moved a man of stone. 

As a prime connoisseur in such matters, De 
Marsay appreciated, at the first glance, this per- 
fect flower, which seemed to have lost its way 
in a crowd of deformed, coarse arbutus. On find- 
ing herself observed, the young girl blushed, 
and the bright crimson which spread over face 
and neck added to the charm which seemed to 
pervade her whole being. 

The songs of gayety had recommenced with 
renewed energy, and thanks to the animation of 
the guests, the young man had been able to 
admire, at his ease, his charming neighbor, with- 
out attracting the attention of those present. 

At a given moment, a fat, jolly-looking mother 


146 


THE FROLER CASE. 


of a family, who occupied the other end of the 
table near her husband, called out to the young 
girl, and thus made known her name to De 
Mar say. 

“Charlotte,” she said to her, “look after your ' 
brothers, they are eating and drinking too much, 
and will make themselves ill.” 

“ They will not listen to me, mother,” replied 
the young girl, “ they are pretending to drink 
wine without water like their uncle, the soldier 
at the barracks of Noisy.” 

A general laugh greeted this answer, and one 
of the guests drank to the health of the little 
soldiers who, quite proud of their success, after 
having touched glasses with their parents, 
offered to do the same with the gentleman'" 

Paul de Marsay consented graciously, and 
even accepted a glass of the wine offered to him, 
on condition of being allowed to return the 
compliment. This was too much in conformity 
with the habits of the workmen to refuse, and 
Paul immediately ordered four bottles of cham- 
pagne. 

He made a sign to the proprietor of the estab- 
lishment, and the thick tumblers and red wine 
disappeared as if by magic, giving place to 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


147 


gracefully formed tall bottles and wide crystal 
glasses. 

To the first bottles, consumed like pure water, 
came others in quick succession, and the treach- 
erous liquor soon began to enliven the brains of 
the partakers. 

The young man had drawn his chair nearer to 
his young neighbor, and so managed that her 
glass was never empty .... then began the 
round of all the old patriotic songs still pre- 
served in the memory of the people. 

Paul de Marsay profited by the enthusiasm 
caused by the champagne and the singing to speak 
to Charlotte and sow in her pure and defence- 
less heart the first seeds of love. . . . What 
did he say to her ? Alas ! it was not ver)^ difficult 
to disturb the simple serenity of her thoughts ! 
Is there any young girl of sixteen who 
does not desire to love and be told she is loved 
in return ? He told her that he had remarked 
her for a long time past, but had never dared to 
accost her and declare his sentiments ; that at 
last, this evening, not being able to bear it any 
longer, he had determined to make a supreme 
effort to learn his fate ; his intentions were pure, 
and his own position in life was not above hers. 


148 


THE FROLER CASE. 


What was it after all to be a lawyer’s clerk ? an 
ordinar}^ employee earning his living among the 
common crowd ; there was no distance in reality 
between them. . . . One word from her lips 
would render him eternally happy or miserable. 
. . . . He was bending over her, young, hand- 
some, fascinating, breathing with infernal skill 
a deadly poison in the heart of the helpless, 
innocent girl .... and all the time the parents 
continued to sing and saw nothing. . . . What 
was natural to happen — did happen ! The young 
girl allowed herself to yield with all her heart to 
the new sentiments which Paul — bright, young, 
handsome — awoke within her, and that evening 
they exchanged vows of love. 

Paul de Marsay had lost his heart while speak- 
ing to this beautiful and pure-minded girl, and 
found that he had learned to love her with an 
ardor unknown to him until then. 

I pass over the secret marriage that followed. 
Some months after, poor Charlotte, afraid of the 
consequences of her marriage, which began to 
be visible, carried out the solicitations of her 
lover, and did not return to the paternal roof. 

Paul de Marsay, who had continued to pass as 
a lawyer’s clerk with some little competence 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


149 


possessed apart from his salary, had installed the 
young girl in a charming little villa in the neigh- 
borhood of Palaiseau, near the railroad of 
Sceaux, certain that in this unfrequented spot no 
one would come to disturb the tranquility of 
their life. 

Charlotte had successively given birth to four 
children, a boy and three girls, and Paul, whose 
love for her had only increased — a rare occur- 
rence for a man of his stamp^ — continued to pass 
all his spare time with her, and surrounded her 
with every mark of affection and care. The 
young mother lived quietly and in comfort, 
without show or display ; a cook, a housemaid 
and nurse composed the establishment ; and she 
was not astonished at being able to afford all this 
ease, for Paul Seguin (this was the name. De 
Marsay had given her as his) had told her that 
he had made a great deal of money in his busi- 
ness, and that had been sufficient for Charlotte, 
who believed in him blindly. 

The young woman was altogether without 
anxiety as to the future ; the delay in acknowl- 
edging his marriage was attributed to the 
obstinacy of an elderly mother who entertained 
other views for her son, and whom Paul did not 


150 


THE FIIOLER CASE. 


wish to offend, but all would end for the best, 
and Charlotte would have been completely 
happy if, from time to time, her thoughts had 
not reverted to her home at the Lilas, which she 
had never re-entered I What had become of 
them all during these five years — her father, 
mother and little brothers? Tears would then 
fill her eyes, but Paul would kiss them away. 
The hour would yet come when she would ask 
for and obtain pardon ! and how happy every 
one would be then ! and Charlotte would allow 
herself to be easily persuaded, and continued to 
live in the hope that this long-desired day would 
soon come. 

Yet the morning of the day that Paul de 
Marsay was to dine with Monsieur d’ Alpujar 
he had left her a prey to sad presentiments. The 
evening before some very doubtful looking 
characters had been noticed wandering around 
the house, and she could not avoid feeling 
alarmed at the thought that Paul would not 
return until the following night — the latter had, 
in fact, left under the pretext of having to 
accompany his mother on a short journey ; but 
although she was quite accustomed to these fre- 
quent absences, and Paul never neglected her 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


161 


comforts or pleasures, she most earnestly 
regretted his absence on that particular night. 

Paul had only laughed at what he called her 
nervous impressions, but during all the day he 
also had felt dispirited and uneasy. He felt as 
if some misfortune, which he was powerless to 
avert, hung over his head, and in the evening, 
when he arrived at the Portuguese ambassador’s, 
these dark thoughts had not entirely disappeared. 
But soon, the gayety of the guests, the delicacy 
of the repast, and the generous wines to be 
found on his host’s table, soon enabled him to 
recover his habitual cheerfulness. 

His depression of spirits had not escaped the 
notice of his friend Emmanuel de Castro, for at 
the moment when the guests passed into the 
smoking-room, the young Portuguese nobleman, 
passing his arm familiarly under the young 
man’s, and drawing him into a corner of the 
room, said to him in a tone full of interest : 

“What is the matter with you this evening, 
Paul? you seem to me sad and preoccupied !” 

“ There is nothing the matter, absolutely noth- 
ing, my dear Emmanuel,” replied De Marsay, “ or 
. . . . well, there is a very trifling affair, a little 


152 


THE FROLER CASE. 


family matter of no importance whatever, it is 
not worth a thought. . . 

I am delighted to find myself mistaken,” 
replied the young Portuguese, fixing a penetrat- 
ing look on De Marsay. ... 1 had imagined 
something more serious. . . . You know, Paul, 
if I can do anything to help you . . .?” 

“ Thanks for your kindness, my dear fellow ; I 
shall not forget it, not for the purpose of remind- 
ing you of your promise, but to increase my 
affection for you.” 

At this moment the voice of the Due d’Alpu- 
jar called his guests to put their conversation to 
an end. The attendants had arranged the table 
for a game of baccarat and each one was invited 
to take his place. 

They played an informal game at the house of 
the Portuguese Ambassador, and the players 
were celebrated throughout all Paris. One 
night, De Dampmart-Conti and the Turkish 
Ambassador had challenged each other to a game 
of ecart^ ; the stakes were to be a million aside 
for five points, without revenge ; the onlookers, 
in order to prolong the excitement, induced 
them to make the game eleven instead of five 
points. Each of the two adversaries deposited on 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


153 


the table a check for a million francs, and the 
game commenced. The Turk arrived at ten 
points and De Dampmart at eight; but it was 
the latter’s turn to deal the cards. He marked the 
king and made the flam ; the man from the Bos- 
phorus was beaten ! But the following night 
Khalil-Bey had his revenge, and gained in addi- 
tion five hundred thousand francs from his 
adversary. 

On another occasion, irritated by the boasting 
of the Ottoman, De Saulze defied him to accept 
the wager he would propose. Word of honor 
being exchanged on both sides, De Saulze offered 
to play him five points for his life against his 
own ; the loser to blow out his own brains. 
The Turkish Ambassador accepted, and the two 
fools, placing their revolvers beside them, began 
to play with the utmost sang froid ; their host, 
however, interfered, and with some difficulty 
the game was put a stop to. 

These two examples will suffice to show to 
what point the salons of the Due d’ Alpujar 
must have occupied public attention. 

De Marsay was a reckless player. He punted 
and held the bank with various fortune ; but 
luck ended by favoring him, and at three o’clock 


154 


THE FROLER CASE. 


ill the morning he had won two hundred thou- 
sand francs from the Due de Dampmart-Conti, 
who had had a disastrous bank. 

The greater number of the players, who had 
not moved since ten o’clock in the evening, gave 
evident signs of fatigue. Urged on by this evil 
genius, De Marsay proposed to give the duke 
his revenge at ^carte ; the former accepted with 
the same coolness he had displayed during the 
whole night. He was the beau ideal of a player, 
nothing ruffling the cool equanimity of his tem- 
per. Bearing one of the greatest names in 
France, and with a fortune which all his extrav- 
agance could not impair, he was always gay, 
smiling, and at the disposition of any one who 
wished to gain a hundred thousand francs from 
him. His income was popularly supposed to be 
ten millions, and this figure was considerably 
below the truth. 

De Marsay, who felt himself in a vein of luck, 
wished to try and gain as much as would enable 
him to complete five hundred thousand francs 
in order to put aside one hundred thousand for 
each of his children and their mother, so that he 
might be able to disclose his marriage when the 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


155 


opportunity occurred, and assume without 
trouble the style due to his social position. 

The occasion then appeared to him an excel- 
lent one to set at rest his apprehensions about 
the future ; he felt himself in a vein of luck and 
resolved to profit by it. 

Emmanuel de Castro, who kept a jealous 
watch over his every movement, had almost a 
look of exultation on his features when he saw 
him propose to the Duke to continue the game 
at 6carte, and he exchanged an almost impercep- 
tible sign of intelligence with this latter, the 
meaning of which could be only understood by 
themselves. 

The attendants brought a small table, a cele- 
brated one, for it was the same on which the 
mad games had been played, which had been the 
talk of all Paris, renewed the wax candles, placed 
on either side of the table a fresh pack of cards, 
and the Duke, seating himself opposite Paul, 
pronounced the sacramental words: 

“ What shall we play for?” 

“What have you lost, Duke?” replied De 
Marsay. 

“ Oh ! a mere trifle ! not quite three hundred 
thousand francs, of which you have had two. 


156 


THE FROLER CASE. 


We will play, if agreeable to you, three games 
of seven points for a hundred thousand each ; 
that will give us time to amuse ourselves.” 

“ I accept.” 

De Marsay was exultant ! three hundred 
thousand francs ! It was just the sum he 
wanted ! 

“ Let us see which deals,” said the Duke, as 
he turned up the queen of spades. 

“ Fortune is in your favor,” replied De Marsay 
smiling, and he turned up a card. 

It was the king of diamonds. 

In this case it has changed quickly,” said the 
Duke, also smiling; “it is not without reason 
that the feminine gender has been assigned to 
her, for she is, at the best, as inconstant as a 
woman. It is your lead, my dear fellow.” 

De Marsay began the game still smiling ; he 
had two hundred thousand francs in his pocket. 
Was he not getting on swimmingly ? At the 
worst, he was only risking the loss of a hundred 
thousand francs, and what was that in the bal- 
ance against the hope of winning a half million? 
In case of bad luck, he would come off clear by 
drawing once more on old father Trincart’s cash- 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


157 


box ; the old banker had never yet left his grand- 
son in the lurch. 

The game commenced quietly, gravely, like 
two honest tradesmen playing for a few cen- 
times; butDe Marsay quickly perceived that his 
good luck was not going to follow him as it had 
done at baccarat. In three hands he lost the 
first point ; that diminished his assurance, but he 
did not abandon all hope yet. He gained the 
second, less brilliantly than the Duke, but still 
he won. 

The third and last game ! A slight shiver 
passed over De Marsay as he received his cards. 
At that moment he would have withdrawn had 
it been possible; two hundred thousand francs 
would have been a nice little sum to carry away. 

He looked at his hand : five bad cards. 
fen demande;'^^ he said, slightly agitated. 

“ Play, sir,” replied the Duke, in his quiet 
voice. I mark the king.” • 

De Marsay saw trouble before him this time; 
this deal he did not make’ a point. It was his 
deal : he paid back the Duke in his own coin by 
marking the king and winning the flam. The 
game went on more slowly. The game was now 
* « I ask!” 


158 


THE FROLER CASE. 


six points each; Paul was dealing; he began to 
breathe more freely. 

He turned up the seven of spades and care- 
fully looked at his hand. He made a strong 
effort not to change color ; he had five diamonds 
headed by the queen. If the Duke did not ask 
he was lost. De Dampmart hesitated. ... he 
glanced quickly and keenly at his adversary, and 
saw an involuntary quiver pass over his lips. 

I play,” he said quietly, and led the seven of 
clubs. 

For a moment, De Marsay felt faint ; this mas- 
ter-stroke of imprudent play ruined him. He 
had nothing to play with, and soon disclosed the 
poverty of his hand to his adversary. At this 
supreme moment, he, a magistrate, could sym- 
pathize with criminals ; if he could he would 
have strangled this man seated there opposite to 
him, smiling, cool, and impassible. The only 
thing left for him to attempt he did: He threw 
away the queen of diamonds, his strongest card, 
in order to lead his adversary to suppose that it 
was the only one he had, and in the hope of draw- 
ing a small diamond from him if he had one. 

But the Duke, still smiling: 

“ Eight of clubs!” 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


159 


De Marsay followed with his seven of dia- 
monds. 

“ Nine of clubs,” continued the Duke, continu- 
ing the suit. 

Paul threw down his cards: he had lost. 

Quite indifferent, without allowing the slight- 
est sign of elation to escape him, the Duke let 
fall three words : 

“ Double or quits.” 

His good angel whispered to him : “ Get up 
and go away ! . . . You can pay this sum, to- 
morrow, before mid-day; old Trincart will give 
you the hundred thousand francs you need.”. . . . 

.... But when did a player ever listen to the 
voice of prudence? De Marsay remained, and 
two hours later, he owed twelve hundred thou- 
sand francs, as a debt of honor to the Due de 
Dampmart-Conti. 

“ Double or quits,” repeated the Duke. 

And, to those who knew him well, there was 
the suspicion of a sneer in his voice. 

“ No, that is enough,” replied the unfortunate 
young magistrate, rising from the table. I will 
pay you, Duke, to-morrow, before noon.” 

And he left the house, staggering like a 
drunken man. 


160 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Paul had not taken ten steps in the street, his 
hat in his Jiand, to allow the fresh, cool air to 
pass over his heated brain, which felt on fire, 
when he felt someone seize him familiarly by 
the arm. He turned round quickly and con- 
fronted Emmanuel de Castro. 

“ It is hardly kind, my dear Paul,” said the 
Portuguese to him, with a smile full of sym- 
pathy. “ No, indeed, it is not kind of you to 
run away from your friends in that way when 
you are in trouble.” 

“ You are right. 1 am in trouble,” replied De 
Marsay, with a glimmering of hope. 

He had just recalled to mind Emmanuel’s 
offered services to him a few hours before. 

“ It is precisely when one is in trouble that 
you ought to have confidence in your friend ; 
come, try and be calm. I understand your diffi- 
culty. You do not wish to ask your people for 
such a large sum at once ; am I not right ? Well, 
then, return home, take a hot bath, rest as well 
as you can, then come to me at ten o’clock, and 
I will lend you this sum you have lost.” 

“Ah! my friend,” replied the young man, 
grasping his hands in a state of frenzy, “ you 
have saved my life ; a few months will enable me 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


161 


to repay you. Thanks ! It would have been 
quite impossible for me to have found a mil- 
lion in a few hours.” 

‘‘ Then that is arranged,” said the Portuguese 
in his soft, deep voice; and he returned to the 
hotel d’Alpujar. 

Transported with joy, De Marsay hailed a car- 
riage which was passing and drove home. 

At ten o’clock precisely he presented himself 
at the De Castro mansion. 

“ Ah ! Monsieur, what a misfortune,” said the 
concierge to him. While testing a revolver 
this morning, Monsieur Emmanuel got his right 
hand badly injured. Fortunately, there was a 
doctor at hand, living opposite to us, who 
immediately dressed it. Had it not been for that, 
I do not know what might have happened, for it 
bled very much. He is in bed just now, and 
has refused to see any one but you.” 

During this speech, which seemed, one would 
imagine, purposely calculated to make the 
unfortunate De Marsay pass from the extremity 
of hope to the depths of despair, a negro, who 
had descended noiselessly at the sound of the 
bell, — a regular Hercules of the race of Yoloff, 
and Emmanuel’s confidential valet, — made a sign 


162 


THE FROLER CASE. 


to him, for he was a mute, that his master was 
waiting to see him. 

De Marsay breathed freely. 

Emmanuel de Castro, extended on his bed, 
his right arm bandaged up and resting on a pil- 
low, held out his left hand to the newcomer, 
saying : 

It is nothing, my dear fellow, and the doctor 
assures me that there will only be a very slight 
mark visible ; but I had a narrow escape ; a 
splinter from the revolver carried off my hat ; 
an inch nearer and it would have lodged in my 
brain.*’ 

Ah ! then it is not so bad as I feared,” said 
De Marsay, who looked very pale. I thought 
the wound much more dangerous.” 

“ How glad I am to see you !’’ continued 
Emmanuel. “ I was beginning to feel lonely. 
Now I think of it, let me put an end to your 
anxieties at once. This cursed accident pre- 
vents me from writing ; but you can do it for 
me. Will you pass me my check-book, which 
you will find there on that 6tagere ?” 

“ Here it is,” said De Marsay looking radiant, 
as he handed it to him. 

“ No, keep it. Place yourself there at that 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


163 


small table ; you will find everything you 
require there for writing.” ^ 

De Marsay mechanically followed the direc- 
tions given him. 

“ There, now,” continued the Portuguese, 
“ you are settled. What sum shall we say ?” 

“ One million only, since I already have the 
two hundred thousand francs.” 

“ No, that won’t do. Come, be frank with 
me ; by the manner in which you played, I 
imagined you were in need of money.” 

“ I assure you . . . .” 

“ You have no confidence in me?” 

‘*Well, then, I did want five hundred thou- 
sand francs for a little matter that 1 can perfectly 
well dispense with.” 

“ But, if I insist that you do not deprive your- 
self of it ! Come, fill in the check for one mil- 
lion five hundred thousand francs, payable to 
Monsieur Paul de Marsay. . . . Have you fin- 
ished ?” 

“ In truth, I dare not !” 

“ I insist .... I am determined to have my 
own way in this matter.” 

Very well, then, since I must. . . .” 

Good, now pass me the check and let me see 


164 


THE PROLER CASE. 


if I can write with my left hand. . . . Impossi- 
ble. . I would never have believed that it 
was such a difficult matter to write with a hand 
not accustomed to it. . . . You will have to sign 
this check for me.” 

“ For you? . . . But it would be forgery !” 

“What a forgery? . . . With my consent it 
is not a forgery, my dear fellow ; I have studied 
law.” 

“ Could not your brother. . . .” 

“ No, I want this business to be kept private 
between us two. ... I really do not compre- 
hend your scruples. Besides, you will have to 
add my seal, a thing I always do when the sum 
is a very large one ; and in order to keep your 
mind tranquil in the matter, after lunch, — for you 
will stay with me, otherwise I shall have no appe- 
tite, — we will write out a memorandum that the 
check has been signed by you at my request.” 

That would put everything into regular form, 
and De Marsay yielded. Emmanuel showed him 
his signature in a book from his library, which 
De Marsay copied at the bottom of the check, 
without trying to imitate it very accurately. 
The seal was then affixed; the check was per- 
fect. Emmanuel rang. 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


165 


“ Order the carriage," he said to the black, 
when he presented himself, “and drive Monsieur 
de Marsay to our bankers, Eusebio Muranda ; 
then go wherever he desires you, and bring him 
back here to — lunch." 

“ I have my carriage downstairs." 

“Send it away. You are my prisoner until 
this evening. You surely will not refuse to take 
pity on a poor lonely devil !" 

“ Oh ! can you think for. . . ." 

“ Go at once ; in spite of my wound, I have the 
appetite of a hunter." 

At half-past twelve, the hour mentioned by 
Emmanuel de Castro, Paul de Marsay had re- 
turned, his face bright with happiness, and it 
was with sincere emotion that he thanked his 
friend, not only for the service he had just re- 
ceived from him, but also for the chivalrous man- 
ner in which it had been rendered. 

“ Do not say anything more about it if you do 
not wish to annoy me," replied the Portuguese 
noble. And now, suppose we order lunch ; 
there is nothing like being shot in the hand to 
give one an appetite." 

When, lunch being over, Paul spoke about 


166 


THE FKOLER CASE. 


the memorandum that was to be written out, his 
friend replied : 

“ But we have never reflected, my dear fellow, 
that no memorandum we can draw up will alter 
the facts of the case.” 

“ How is that ?” 

“ Why, that you really have signed for me. 
Let us wait until I am all right again, which will 
be in a very few days.” 

“ 1 will offer up the most sincere prayers for 
your speedy recovery; nevertheless, as accord- 
ing to the old proverb : ‘ Ni qui vit ni qui meurt,'"^ 
I will write out a receipt for the money you lent 
me.” 

“ As you like, my dear fellow.” 

“ Now, as to the memorandum which is to 
serve as a guarantee. We could send for a notary 
who will receive your affidavit in the presence 
of witnesses, and in that way there would be 
no necessity for you to sign.” 

“ You forget, my dear fellow, that we would 
be obliged to take the notary into our confi- 
dence, and I have already said that I particularly 
wish this little matter to remain a secret 


* “ We never know who may die or who may live.” 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


167 


between us. We will regulate all that, I prom- 
ise you, after my recovery.” 

De Marsay was obliged to yield, and inwardly 
went into raptures over the greatness of soul 
and generosity of his friend ; and when evening 
came he left for Palaiseau, happy at heart, antici- 
pating with delight his return to his wife and 
children. 

He would not have felt so perfectly happy or 
tranquil in mind could he have witnessed the 
scene that took place immediately after his 
departure from the Hotel de Castro! He had 
hardly, in fact, left the house, when Emmanuel 
jumped out of bed, throwing off all the bandages 
and linen with which his black valet Ali had 
skillfully wrapped up his arm, and began to 
dress. 

At the same moment his brother came in. 

Well !” said the newcomer, “ how did you 
get on ? Did he suspect anything ?” 

“ Absolutely nothing ! we have him in our 
power, as well as his old rascal of a father,” 
replied Emmanuel. 

Then Alvarez sententiously and with his eyes 
flashing hatred, muttered : 


168 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Vengeance costs dear, but it is sweet to the 
taste. . . 

The very next day the Chief Detective, 
Froler, received a private communication re- 
questing him to call at Messrs. Eusebio Muranda 
& Co., Bankers, Rue Castiglione, who wished to 
confer with him on a matter of urgent import- 
ance. He hastened to obey the summons, and 
when he arrived there the head of the firm 
informed him that on the forenoon of the pre- 
vious day they had paid at the bank a sum of 
fifteen hundred thousand francs to Monsieur 
Paul de Marsay on the presentation by him of a 
check bearing the forged signature of Monsieur 
Emmanuel de Castro, and they requested him in 
his capacity as Chief Detective to negotiate dis- 
creetly for the reimbursement of the amount of 
the check by his family, under penalty, in ^ase 
of refusal, of having Monsieur Paul de Marsay 
indicted for forgery before the Procureur Gen- 
eral. 

Froler accepted the mission with delight, and 
presented himself without delay at the office of 
the old magistrate of the Supreme Court, father 
of the accused, whom he informed without prep- 
aration of any kind of the crime his son was 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


169 


accused of, and enlightening him as to the conse- 
quences which would be entailed on the latter 
should his family refuse^o refund the fifteen 
hundred thousand francs to the bankers, the 
present holders of the forged check. Monsieur 
Emmanuel de Castro having refused to allow 
the firm to debit him with the amount, seeing 
that he had not signed the check nor authorized 
them in any way to pay the money. 

Before consenting to believe in the truth of this 
accusation, Messrs. Eusebio Muranda & Co. had 
submitted the check for examination to an 
expert, who had pronounced the signature to be 
a bad imitation of Monsieur de Castro’s writing, 
which, of course, made the bank responsible for 
the full amount to Monsieur Emmanuel de Castro. 

At this news. Monsieur de Marsay at first 
thought himself the dupe of some mystification, 
but Froler having again gone over the details 
of the transaction, and having shown him the 
check, the unhappy father was compelled to 
accept the evidence, and he requested a delay of 
a month to pay the debt. In spite of his suppli- 
cations he could not obtain a respite of more than 
forty-eight hours. 

Having then ordered his son’s immediate 


170 


THE FROLER CASE. 


attendance on him, the latter, who was in Court 
at the time, hastened to obey his father’s request. 

“ Ah ! unhappy boy, what is this you have 
done ?” cried the poor father on seeing him. 

“ Explain yourself, in the name of heaven ! 
You terrify me.” 

“ Did you not present a check for fifteen hun- 
dred thousand francs at Eusebio Muranda & 
Co.’s, the Portuguese bankers?” 

‘‘ What ! You know about it?” 

“Answer.” 

“ Yes, father, a debt of honor contracted at 
cards! I lost my head, and allowed myself to 
be carried away.” 

“ To commit a forgery ?” 

“ A forgery ! what are you saying? Emman- 
uel de Castro offered to lend me a sum of money 
which I accepted, and drew the money from 
Eusebio Muranda’s on presenting his check for 
the amount.” 

“ You can swear that ?” 

“ Father, I am no better than three-fourths of 
the men of my generation, who sacrifice every- 
thing to their pleasures, but I have never for- 
feited either my honor or my word.” 

“ Ah ! then 1 can breathe freely once more. I 


A 8INISTEB ASSOCIATION. 


171 


m.gnt have known that Froler would have exag- 
gerated the importance of the thing, for. . . 

“What has Froler to do with the matter, 
father?” interrupted the young man. 

He came here to tell me that a charge of 
forgery was going to be made against you if the 
fifteen hundred thousand francs were not re- 
funded to Eusebio Muranda & Co. within forty- 
eight hours.” 

At these words Paul turned pale ; yet he did 
not comprehend all the frightful truth. 

“A forgery! I, a forger I It is impossible, 
father.” 

“ Oh I I ought to have known as well as you 
that it was impossible. Oh I oh ! oh ! a De Mar- 
say, a forger I” 

And the old man laughed hysterically. 

“ The villain,” he continued, “ has tried to 
make sport of us ; but I will see De Vergennes 
and have him dismissed. . . . Come, my son, 
explain all that passed to me.” 

“ It is very simple, father.” 

Then, instead of continuing, the young man 
gave a suppressed cry and struck his forehead 
with his hands. ... He had just had a gleam 
of the atrocious truth .... or rather he thought 


172 


THE FROLER CASE. 


he had, for he would not allow himself to believe 
it yet. 

“ No! No !” he said. “ Emmanuel could not 
be guilty of such an abuse of confidence ; it 
would be too monstrous.” 

“ What do you mean ?” demanded his father 
anxiously. “ I implore you not to leave me in 
the painful position of supposing everything and 
yet not knowing what to believe.” 

Paul then forced himself to regain a little of 
his ordinary coolness, and gave a faithful account 
of all that had happened, from the moment of 
his arrival at the residence of the Portuguese 
Ambassador, to the occurrences on the follow- 
ing day at Emmanuel de Castro’s : the loan of the 
fifteen hundred thousand francs, the manner in 
which the check had been signed on account of 
the wound the Portuguese was suffering from, 
and at last, his payment of the money to the 
Due de Dampmart-Conti, and his return to the 
Hotel de Castro, which he only left at four 
o’clock in the afternoon. 

While his son was speaking, the old judge 
had gradually regained his composure, for, as 
the recital advanced, he comprehended that he 
would require all his energy and skill to ward 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


173 


off the terrible blow which had just fallen on his 
son. 

“ Paul,” he said to him without the slightest 
hesitation when the latter had concluded, “ I 
very much fear you have been the victim of an 
odious plot.” 

“ Ah ! father! the same thought has come to 
me also ! but do you see how difficult that is 
to admit, and at the same time, how illogical? 
To execute such a vengeance, reasons for very 
powerful hatred must exist against someone, 
and Emmanuel de Castro and I are on perfectly 
friendly terms ; neither have we ever had the 
slightest misunderstanding. Such conduct 
could only be understood as a love of doing evil 
for evil’s sake; such things do not happen in our 
world, father.” 

“ I cannot see, I admit, why these Portuguese 
should try to ruin you ; yet I ought to inform 
you of one serious matter .... so serious that 
it makes me shiver, for if l am not mistaken it 
will prove beyond a doubt that you have been 
inveigled into a trap !” 

'‘And this thing, father?. ... Oh ! what 
suffering you cause me by your reticence !” 


174 


THE FROLER CASE. 


‘'Well, it was the presence, last evening, of 
your friend Emmanuel de Castro at the opera !’' 

“ You have been misinformed, father ; he was 
not in a state to leave his bed on account of his 
wound.’’ 

“ I am not alluding to anything that was told 
me ; I saw him myself !” 

“ Then he had his arm in a sling.” 

“ No, he bore no evidence about him of having 
been wounded.” 

“ There must be some mistake, father ; it is 
impossible ! Not knowing them very well, you 
have taken Alvarez for Emmanuel . . . .” 

“ That is very possible, but there is a means 
of deciding the matter, and that is to go and see 
De Castro.” 

“ I was going to propose it, father ; my car- 
riage is waiting at the door.” 

A few moments later, they learned with aston- 
ishment, that the two Portuguese had gone on a 
journey likely to last some months. 

“Whatl and Monsieur Emmanuel still suffer- 
ing from his wound ?” exclaimed Paul de 
Marsay. 

“ Monsieur is mistaken,” replied the person 
who had answered their summons ; “ there is 


A SINISTEB ASSOCIATION. 175 

nothing the matter with Monsieur Emmanuel, 
he is perfectly well, and has not received any 
wound.” 

The unlucky De Marsay hardly knew what 
to think or believe. 

No wound,” he repeated mechanically, “ but 
then! . . . 

“ Then, my son,” said the old judge with 
dignity, “ 3^ou have been the dupe of unprinci- 
pled adventurers who now hide themselves like 
cowards so as to avoid being called to account 
for their conduct. . . . Come ! there is only one 
way of doing business with people of that class 
— pay them, discussion is out of the question. 
. . . Come, my son ; to-morrow these people 
wdll be indemnified.” 

Monsieur le Comte,” said at this moment the 
person who had received them, “ would you 
allow me to say a few words to you in private ?” 

‘‘ The attendants of these . . . 

** I am not their attendant.” 

Who are ^^ou, sir, may I ask?” 

And the old judge remarked what his dis- 
turbed state of feelings had prevented him from 
seeing before, that the stranger was a man of 


176 


THE FROLER CASE. 


distinguished appearance, and evidently a gen- 
tleman. 

“ I am first secretary to the Portuguese Em- 
bassy, Monsieur.” 

The old man bowed, and passed into the small 
private office indicated to him by the secretary. 

When he came out again, he was frightfully 
pale, and concealed some object, which his son 
could not see, under his overcoat. 

“What is the matter with you, father?” 
asked the young man, whom inward rage and 
indignation helped to support. 

“ Nothing, my son, but the conviction that 
these men are capable of anything. . . . Do not 
trouble yourself about the matter any longer. 
I will undertake to find the necessary money to 
indemnify these people.” 

“ I only paid a million to the Duke, father; the 
remaining five hundred thousand francs, which I 
destined for another purpose, are untouched. I 
will send them on to you.” 

“ Very well, my son. Now, I have one thing 
to ask you. I have a good many different places 
to visit .... alone !” 

“ And you would like to make use of my 
coup^ ?” 


THE DISCOVERY OF THE MURDERED MAN.— ,S'ee Part I. 


p 



4 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


177 


The old man made a sign of assent. 

“At what hour can I see you again, father?” 

“ Don’t come before to-morrow morning. I 
shall have, I hope, the pleasure of telling you 
that you are out of these people’s clutches.” 

The old judge made all haste home: he was 
anxious to know what the little package con- 
tained which the ambassador’s secretary had 
handed to him as the legacy of a dying man. 

Scarcely had he opened it, when he allowed 
it to escape from his hands, with a stifled 
groan. 

“ Ah !” he cried, “ it is vengeance !”.... 
then he continued in a lower tone .... “ No, it 
is the hour of justice that has sounded !”.... 

The object he had received was a simple visit- 
ing-card of large size, as was then the fashion, 
bearing two names and followed by the word : 

“ Remember !’’ 


178 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Charles Lefevre. 
Ernest Dutheil. 
REMEMBER! 
Island of Salut 

{Cayenne), 


“ Ah ! 1 do not stand in need of this message 
to remind me I” moaned the old man ; “ the 
remembrance of that deed poisons my life. It is 
the one infamous action of which I have ever 
been guilty. It was necessary to save my fam- 
ily from dishonor. . . . and I succumbed. . . . 
Now they are avenging themselves on my son 
.... but I will defend him. He is innocent ! 
Trincart must hand me over the million I need 
at once. Was it not he who caused me to sacri- 
fice my loyalty, my duty ; whom I saved by 
bringing to condemnation his two innocent 
employees ! . . . Ah, well ! let him aid me now 
in saving my son, or if not ... I” 

And the old man, shaking his head in a threat- 
ening manner, picked up the card that he had 


A SINISTER ASSOCIA.TION. 


179 


allowed to drop from his hold and put it care- 
fully in his pocket-book. . . . 

This same day, about four o’clock, Monsieur 
de Marsay deposited fifteen hundred thousand 
francs in the bank of Eusebio Muranda & Co., for 
which he received a receipt and a letter ad- 
dressed to Froler, authorizing the Chief Detec- 
tive to restore to Monsieur de Marsay, Judge of 
the Supreme Court, the check which had been 
confided to him by the bankers. 

The old man went directly to the Prefecture 
of Police, he begged that his son-in-law might 
not be disturbed on his account, and went 
straight to the Chief Detective’s office. Froler, 
warned of his visit, received him with obsequi- 
ous deference, and offered his excuses for the 
cruel mission he had undertaken to fulfill towards 
him, only that the affair might not be made 
public, which would have infallibly happened 
had it been confided to any other hands. As to 
the check, if he could not restore it at the mo- 
ment, it was because he had not wished to leave 
it at the Prefecture at the mercy of any one who 
happened to be there. The exigencies of the 
service did not permit him to go home for it at 
that moment, but if Monsieur de Marsay would 


180 


THE FROLER CASE. 


call in that night at eleven o’clock, he would 
have it ready for him. 

Monsieur de Marsay accepted the excuse as 
sufficient, for he had made up his mind to dis- 
guise his annoyance with regard to Froler’s con- 
duct until he was in possession of the check 
which compromised his son’s honor, with the 
intention then of exposing the Detective to the 
Chief of Police and insisting on his dismissal. 

Froler, who also had his own particular end in 
view, had only appointed this advanced hour of 
the night in order to be able to discuss matters 
freely with Monsieur de Marsay, all the em- 
ployees having left the Prefecture at that 
hour. 

The old judge was punctual. As eleven o’clock 
struck he knocked quietly at the door of Froler’s 
office, which opened on the passage leading to 
the Chief of Police’s private office. In this way 
he had avoided passing through the small ante- 
room, in which some police agents were in wait- 
ing. Froler immediately offered him a seat near 
him. . . . He was at that moment playing with 
a magnificent Malay dagger, which he held out 
for the admiration of the newcomer. 

I am a great admirer of weapons,” said he 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


181 


to De Marsay, “and possess a very complete 
collection at my house. The flame-shaped Malay 
dagger with the groove made to receive curare 
was wanting, and 1 have just been made a pres- 
ent of this one.” 

The detective omitted to tell him that it had 
been given to him at the Castro Hotel, where he 
had been that afternoon, and that the two Portu- 
guese had requested him to do his best to keep 
back the check for forty-eight hours longer, 
this delay being necessar}^ in order to carry out 
their ulterior designs. 

On his side, Froler was disposed to play a 
close game on this chance that he might never 
have again, of effecting a change in his position 
at the Prefecture for a more lasting seat in the 
Council of State. 

So, not to lose time, he put the question with 
shameless effrontery. 

“ Monsieur,” he said to the old judge, “ I 
regret to have to announce disappointing news 
to you, which, however, from your legal experi- 
ence, you cannot be altogether unprepared 
for.” 

“ 1 absolutely fail to comprehend what you 
mean ; will you be good enough to explain, sir,” 


182 


THE FROLER CASE. 


replied Monsieur de Marsay, looking at his 
interlocutor with unfeigned astonishment. 

Yet it is very simple. You know that pub- 
lic action has not been stopped in this matter, 
and as you are aware, it is only Monsieur le 
Procureur General who can pronounce on the 
case of your son. 1 am, before all things, a slave 
to duty, and my duty orders me to lay before 
the Commissioners the incriminating check and 
the accusation addressed to me by Messrs. 
Eusebio Muranda & Co.” 

“ Are you speaking seriously. Sir ?” demanded 
Monsieur de Marsay, laying emphasis on each 
syllable and looking disdainfully at Froler from 
head to foot. 

“ Quite seriously. Sir,” replied Froler, examin- 
ing his papers and humming to himself between 
his teeth, as if to make Monsieur de Marsay 
understand that he was quite at liberty to with- 
draw. 

“Well, sir,” replied Monsieur de Marsay, 
‘‘you are a nice sort of a scoundrel . . . .” 

“ Sir !” 

“ A sneak and a villain, whom 1 shall have 
hounded out of the Prefecture within the next 
hour.” 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


183 


“ By your son-in-law, in order to save your 
son ; as it suits you, my dear Sir, who is neither 
a sneak nor a villain, but only the father of a 
forger ; as it suits you. We shall have fine sport 
presently. Be careful to search all the opposi- 
tion papers to-morrow for the account of the 
Prefet discharging the Chief Detective because 
his brother-in-law had forged for the trifling sum 
of fifteen hundred thousand francs, and that the 
said Chief, having received a complaint, refused 
to throw it in the waste-paper basket, because 
he held out that conformity to the law ought 
not to be a farce, and that the powerful ought 
to be equally punished with the weak when they 
have been guilty of a crime. . . . Hem ! what 
a fine paragraph that will make : the declaration 
of the Rights of Men, the principles of ’89, all 
will come in for a share, and the Government 
will be forced to discharge the Chief of Police 
and to put the Chief Detective in his place, 
under a general pressure of public opinion and 
the papers to which. . . . Come now. Monsieur 
de Marsay, go and tell Monsieur de Vergennes, 
who happens to be at the Opera ; it will not be 
too long, will it, to wait for his return in order 
to rid the place of a cowardly sneak like me ?" 


184 . 


THE EROLER CASE. 


“ It is true, the villain has us in his power,’* 
murmured Monsieur de Marsay, overwhelmed 
with despair ; then seized by a sudden idea, he 
got up : “ Well, it can’t be helped !” he said, “ do 
your duty,” and he went towards the door. 

“Stop a moment!” said Froler, as the judge 
was leaving the room. 

“ What more can you have to say to me. Sir ?” 
replied the other with dignity. 

“ How quick you are ! You hardly give 
a man time to draw his breath. Wait a moment. 
What the devil ! it is quite possible to arrive at 
some understanding.” 

“ What is your price?” retorted the old man, 
in a tone of withering contempt. 

“ Oh ! no fafaiuxy'* replied the detective. . . . 
“ oh ! pardon me . . . . ” 

“ I understand the expression. Sir. Why give 
yourself the trouble of apologizing? It suits the 
class you belong to.” 

“Bah! words belong to no particular class. 
You know’ very well that I have no intention of 
asking you for money like any common sharper.” 

“ Oh ! is there anything else I could offer . . . . 
to you, Froler ?” 

“ Yes, for I am wealthy !” 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


185 


‘‘A proof that you have not been siow to 
accept .... and then. . . 

I would be satisfied with the post of State 
Councillor.” 

“ Only that !” 

“ My God, yes ! My ambition is a modest 
one.” 

The judge drew near. A sudden idea had 
taken such arbitrary hold of him as to deprive 
him of all control over himself. 

But even suppose I should agree to this bar- 
gain, you can hardly expect me to carry a 
brevet of State Councillor about with me in my 
pocket. I must have time to induce my friends 
to act. . . . The thing is then impossible, for I 
must have my son’s check this very night ; 
to-morrow the exigencies of the case will be in- 
creased. You take pleasure in torturing me, and 
my patience is exhausted. ... I will go to-mor- 
row and throw myself on the mercy of the Presi- 
dent, accompanied by Monsieur de Ger^y, and 
we shall see if I cannot succeed in closing your 
mouth and saving my son. . . . So, either the 
check at once, or . . . .1 leave you !” 

Froler saw that if the old man adopted the 
course he suggested he would infallibly succeed, 


186 


THE FROLER CASE. 


particularly as the money had been refunded ; 
and then an inquiry would certainly be made; 
they would find out one circumstance that 
Paul had omitted to mention to his father, 
namely, that Emmanuel’s black servant had 
accompanied the young magistrate to the bank, 
which would put a very equivocal appearance 
to the accusation. 

In addition, the writing of Monsieur de 
Marsay’s son was in no way disguised, and they 
would find it singular that Muranda & Co. should 
have paid out such a large sum of money on a 
check which they must have known was forged. 
All that might turn out very badly, and it would 
be better to make use of the present oppor- 
tunity. A binding promise from Monsieur de 
Marsay, plainly stating his reasons, would be 
valuable, and would be quite sufficient for his 
purpose, so he quickly made up his mind. 

And who spoke of not giving you back the 
check to-night ?” 

“ Do you agree, then, to give it back?” 

“Yes, on a simple promise from you.” 

“ Monsieur Froler, I will forget everything 
that has passed if you will make this reparation 
for the harm you have done me, and you may 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


187 


rest assured that you will obtain more than mere 
words from me in return. ...” 

” Oh ! wait a moment! it is a written promise 
that I require. I am not a fool. . . . Beforehand, 
it is always : ‘ My dear Froler here, my dear 
Froler there but afterwards : ‘ Froler ! what is 
all this about?. ... I know nothing of what 
you are speaking about !’ ” 

” Oh ! the villain ! the miserable villain I” said 
the old man in an aside, not an atom of heart I • 
nothing human under that covering. . . .” 

And he «onvulsively pressed his clenched 
hand against his breast. A few moments longer 
and he would lose all restraint over himself .... 
the wild beast, which at certain times is within 
every man, .... was gaining the mastery over 
him. Look after yourself, Froler! there are 
times when the tamer does not tease his lions ; it 
is when their eyes glitter with a yellow light, 
when their manes bristle in short violent jerks, 
when they open and shut their eyes alternately, 
as if the vision of the vast desert was passing 
before their gaze and the idea was coming to 
them gradually to revenge themselves on the 
one who had deprived them of liberty ! 

Beware, Froler ! Monsieur de Marsay’s eyes 


188 THE FEOLER CASE. 

gleam with a yellow light, a continuous shiver 
agitates his whole body, and his thoughts are 
wandering on the compensation that individual 
justice sometimes opposes to the justice meted 
out by the law. 

But Froler was blind ! 

“ What is this promise ?” said De Marsay, 
gradually drawing nearer him with a calm that 
had almost something terrifying in it. 

• “ It is very simple,” replied the Chief Detec- 

tive. “ You must declare that in order to put a 
stop to the public action which rests with me to 
put on foot relative to a forgery committed by 
your son, your promise to obtain my appoint- 
ment as State Councillor within the next fifteen 
days.” 

“ Is that all?” 

“ Eh! my God, yes!” replied Froler in a gib- 
ing tone. “ I shall content myself with that ; if 
you fail to keep your word, why then we will 
recommence the dance.” 

“ Very well, then, write,” replied the old man 
in such a quiet tone that it struck terror into his 
own heart ... “I will sign.” 

“ I am glad to hear you speak in that way, 
and that we understand each other at last.” 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


189 


Here Froler took a sheet of stamped paper, 
for he had partly expected this, and began to put 
down in writing the promise he had indicated 
verbally. 

Monsieur de Marsay had come so near as 
almost to touch him, as if he wished to look 
over the detective’s shoulder at what he was 
writing down. ^ 

He was ghastly pale, and his hand advanced 
slowly, stealthily towards the Malay dagger 
which lay within his reach on the edge of the 
table .... Soon he touched it ... . seized it 
with his right hand and took it up quickly. 

“ There, that is over !” exclaimed Froler, read- 
ing over his paper aloud. 

“ I, the undersigned. Judge of the Supreme 
Court, in order to put a stop to any proceed- 
ings taken against my son on account of forg- 

»» 

ery. . . . 

“Die then, miserable hound!” exclaimed 
Monsieur de Marsay in a choking voice. 

And at the same time the dagger disappeared 
to the hilt in the detective’s body. 

The blade had entered below the shoulder and 
passed through the lung and Froler had fallen 


190 


THE FROLEB CASE. 


an inert mass on the floor without giving a sin- 
gle cry. Without losing an instant, the mur- 
derer took possession of the forged check and 
the promise Froler had been in the act of writ- 
ing out, and rushing towards the door opposite 
to the one opening into the ante-room, where he 
knew some police agents were in attendance, 
opened it with the rapidity of lightning and 
stepped quickly into the passage leading to the 
Secretary’s office. 

But hurried footsteps were already heard in 
the office of the murdered man; to fly down this 
vast corridor .... he would be seen and pur- 
sued .... he felt that he was lost, and stood 
quite still, haggard, trembling, not knowing 
what to do. . . . Two seconds more and they 
would open the door .... Oh, welcome sight ! 
He noticed an outside bolt which Monsieur de 
Vergennes had had placed to interdict the 
people belonging to the Detective Force from 
going through this passage, which conducted to 
his private apartments, and which he himself 
had drawn only a few minutes before, when he 
had gone to see Froler. . . . 

He quickly extended his hand and pushed it 
back in its socket. ... It was time. The handle 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


191 


turned in the lock and a stentorian voice cried 
from the other side : 

“ He has pushed the bolt, quick I go around 
by the great staircase.'' 

Without in the least hurrying himself, for he 
knew he was well in advance. Monsieur de 
Marsay directed his steps towards his son-in- 
law's apartments ; and then, who could dare to 
accuse him ? He is going precisely the opposite 
way from where the men of the brigade have 
hurried in pursuit of the murderer. 

On arriving at the apartments, he rang with a 
sang froid which astonished himself. ... A 
maid opened the door and uttered an exclam- 
ation of pleasure on seeing him, for the old man 
was much loved in the house : 

“ Ah ! it is Monsieur! .... Madame's father! 
. . . . They have all gone to the opera." 

“ I know it, my girl, but I will wait for my 
daughter; the opera must be over by this time." 

And Monsieur de Marsay entered the draw- 
ing-room, closing the door after him. . . . He 
examined himself carefully by the light of the 
lamp ; not a drop of blood to be seen anywhere ; 
the dagger remaining in the wound had pre- 


192 


THE FROLER CASE. 


vented the blood flowing. . . . There was 
nothing to fear .... he was safe. 

Then, at the end of his courage and strength, 
he allowed himself to sink down on the sofa, 
where he lay shivering .... gasping. 

'‘A murderer! I am a murderer!” he mur- 
mured. 

But he was again obliged to summon all his 
energy ; a sound of voices was suddenly heard 
in the ante-room. 

Madame de Vergennes and her daughter had 
returned ! . . . 

Almost at the same hour that Paul de Marsay 
had been carried forcibly away on the quay 
Megisserie, as we already know from the reports 
of his coachman and the police agents who were 
making their nightly rounds, two men arrived 
in a carriage at Palaiseau and asked to speak on 
matters of importance to Madame Charlotte 
Seguin on the part of her husband. The ser- 
vants had at first refused to awaken their mis- 
tress, but hearing the voice, Charlotte had 
rapidly thrown on a dressing-gown and gone 
down-stairs. The two strangers were fashion- 
ably dressed and distinguished in appearance. 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


193 


SO she never for a moment doubted that they 
had been sent by Paul. She was so agitated, 
that she did not remark that one of the strangers 
in particular regarded her with a sudden 
emotion that he seemed to have considerable 
difficulty in restaining. 

As soon as the newcomers were ushered into 
the drawing-room, the elder did not wait for 
Charlotte to ask him the reason of this visit at 
such an advanced hour of the night, but hastened 
to explain it to her. 

“ Madame,” he said, bowing politely, “ we have 
been sent by your husband for the purpose of 
conducting 3"ou to him. He left this morning 
for London, sent there b}^ our employer, for we 
work in the same office, to arrange some very 
important legal business, and he had not even 
a moment in which to warn you; he was obliged 
on arriving at the office this morning, to jump 
into a cab, and hasten to the Northern Railway 
station in order to catch the train for Calais. 
We are also engaged in the same business as he 
is, but were not allowed to leave for London so 
soon ; one person alone was sufficient for the 
production of the different legal documents at 
the English law Court. Your husband was to 


194 


THE FROLER CASE. 


write from London, where he arrived this even- 
ing ; but he has reflected, no doubt, on the lone- 
liness of being deprived of the pleasure of your 
society for such a long time, and changed his 
mind, for this evening, at ten o’clock, we 
I'eceived the following telegram from him. 

“ * London : seven thirty-five P. M. 

“ ‘ Beg my friends Servet and Robert (that is 
ourselves, Madame) to have the kindness to 
bring Madame Seguin with them to-morrow. 
Very important and embarrassing business: am 
obliged to remain longer than I first anticipated. 

“‘(Signed) Paul Seguin.’ 

“ As, in order to accompany us, Madame, you 
would have to leave Palaiseau by the early 
morning train, we had no time, you will see, 
to wait for a more convenient hour to call on 
you.” 

This speech was made in a very natural man- 
ner. Why, besides, should she think that they 
were deceiving her ? And then, Paul de Marsay, 
so as to gain more freedom, was in the habit of 
absenting himself so frequently, on account of 
pressing business engagements, that Charlotte, in 


A SINISTER ASSOCIA.TION. 


195 


the height of her delight, believed all their state- 
ments implicitly. 

After thanking them warmly for giving them- 
selves so much trouble on her account, she 
begged them to accept what hospitality she 
could offer until the next morning, and promised 
to be ready at the hour indicated. 

The villa possessed several spare guest-rooms ; 
but before retiring to the one placed at their 
disposal, the elder of the two strangers, who had 
introduced himself under the name of Servet, 
requested he might see his friend’s children. 
And Charlotte, happy as all mothers are to win 
admiration for their progeny, conducted the 
strangers to the room where the four children 
were asleep. 

Servet remained a long time near their cribs, 
devouring with his eyes the little creatures who 
were sleeping so soundly and peacefully. Sud- 
denly his eyes filled with tears, and bending over 
the babies he kissed them tenderly. 

“You are fond of children. Monsieur ?” said 
the young mother, much moved ; “ perhaps you 
have lost some.” 

“ Oh ! yes, Madame, I am very fond of them, 
and my grief is caused by the loss of a young 


196 


THE FROLER CASE. 


daughter, who would have been now just about 
your age, and like you, was called Charlotte.” 

“Did it happen a long time ago, Monsieur?” 

“ Yes, Madame, a very long time ago.” 

“Ah! how terrible it must be to lose a child 
by death ! it must seem like tearing away a part 
of the mother’s heart. . . .” 

“ My daughter did not die, Madame ; she was 
carried away from my protecting care when 
quite a child, and I have never seen her since.” 

“ How you must have suffered !” said the 
young mother, with a pitying compassion which 
made her look still more lovely. 

As Servet gazed earnestly at her through his 
tears, he continued with an effort : 

“ You are kind and good, Madame. Will you 
try and excuse me if I ask a favor, which I beg 
you will not allow to offend you ; but look at 
me, my hair is almost white, and I might be the 
grandfather of your lovely children, so I beg be- 
forehand your forgiveness. . . ” 

“ Speak, Monsieur, I am certain you will not 
ask anything I ought to refuse.” 

“You recall to me so visibly her whom I have 
lost, that it makes me in a measure happy if 
you would allow me to give you the father’s 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


197 


kiss I have kept for her during fifteen long 
years. . . . 

Blushing deeply, the young mother hesitated 
a moment; but Servet was there, his eyes still 
tearful, standing so respectfully, looking so sad, 
his age besides, and the reason he gave, pleaded 
so eloquently in his favor, that she bent her 
beautiful brow towards him for all answer. . . . 
Overcome with emotion, the stranger kissed her 
warmly, and could not resist the impulse which 
seized him to throw his arms round her and 
press her to his heart, as he murmured : 

“ My daughter, my darling Charlotte, if you 
only knew what your poor father has suffered !” 

Far from being annoyed at this display of ten- 
derness, which in her thoughts was addressed to 
another, Charlotte was moved by it even to 
tears. She thought, also, of her father, her 
mother, whom she had left one day never again 
to see them, and her tears began to flow. 

“ Have I offended you, Madame ?” asked 
Servet sadly. ... “ Forgive me — for you have 

given me one of the few rare moments of happi- 
ness I have been able to taste in my life. It 
seemed to me for a few moments as if I held my 
own daughter pressed against my heart.” 


198 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“I am happy on your account, Monsieur, and 
your fatherly caress could not wound me when 
1 knew the meaning of it." 

At this moment, one of the children began to 
move in his crib as if awakening: this was the 
signal for retreat. 

“One word yet," said Servet to the young 
mother: “ 1 forgot to tell you that your husband 
allows you to bring the children if you choose ; 
he understands that you could not leave them 
behind for any length of time, and he will be 
happier not to be deprived of their caresses." 

“ How thoughtful he is," replied Charlotte, 
with a burst of tenderness. “ Thanks for having 
warned me in time ; it would have been too late 
when they awoke to make all the preparations 
necessary for a journey." 

“Of course, the servants must accompany 
you. You had better tell them now, madame, so 
that they may be ready." 

Servet and his friend then bowed to Charlotte 
with all the more respect now that their inter- 
view had assumed a more intimate tone, and 
withdrew to their apartments. 

At six o’clock the next morning the whole 
household were seated in the train at Palaiseau, 


A SINISTER ASSOCIATION. 


199 


and on their arrival at Paris an elegant family 
carriage awaited them, which in less than twenty 
minutes conveyed them to the Northern Station. 

Servet had telegraphed to secure a deck-cabin 
on the steamboat, so that the young mother 
might be alone with her children, although the 
crossing from Calais to Dover barely lasted an 
hour and a half. And Charlotte went on board 
the boat perfectly happy at the thought of being 
so soon in the arms of Paul, whom she loved so 
tenderly .... and not for one single moment 
did the slightest doubt of the real mission which 
these two strangers were accomplishing trouble 
her peace of mind. 



PART THIRD. 

THE convict’s REVENGE. 

When Luce and Heurtloup entered Jacques 
Laurent’s study, preceded by the old detective, 
they observed the latter take a letter, which was 
lying open on his desk, replace it in its envelope, 
then put it away carefully in a locked portfolio, 
which he kept in one of the drawers of his cash- 
box. 

“You would very much like to know what I 
have got in there ?” observed the old man, 
smiling. 

“ Not at all. Chief,” replied Luce, “your busi- 
ness is not ours, and . . . .” 

“Ta! ta! ta! ’ replied Jacques Laurent, “ all 
this ceremony and line speeches don’t sound 
natural coming from you to me. . . . You know 

[200] 


THE convict’s REVENGE. 


201 


as well as I do, Luce, the weaknesses of human 
nature, and if you tried to deny the fact, I could 
not believe you. 1 defy any one, 1 don’t care 
who he or she may be, to see a letter or tele- 
gram slowly folded and put out of their sight^ 
that nolens volens as the jurists say, whether they 
wish it or not, the following reflection does not 
pass through his mind : ‘ I should like to know 

what is in that paper that is being folded so care- 
fully out of sight.’ . . . This first thought is 
common to all men whatever may be their char- 
acter or education ; but starting from this head- 
line, you can place a crowd of offshoots 
representing the different roads a man follows 
according to his temperament, his education or 
social position. There are as many different 
associations of ideas as there are people ; thus, to 
enable you to form an idea, I will tell you what 
each of you thought, judging from the special 
knowledge I have of your intelligence, tenden- 
cies, and of those little differences so impos- 
sible to explain in words, existing between you, 
and constituting your individuality. I only ask 
you to be frank with me in return.” 

“Ob, Chief!” exclaimed the two detectives, 
who were burning with impatience, thinking of 


202 


THE FKOLER CASE. 


the precious time the old man was making them 
lose. But they understood their Chief ; they had 
to put up with his whims if they expected to 
get anything from him in return. 

“You, Luce,” continued Jacques Laurent im- 
perturbably, “ after the first feeling of curiosity, 
which I affirm is common to all men, you asked 
yourself why I locked away this letter in your 
presence. Was it the fear that you might take a 
glance at its contents ? And you felt wounded 
because I did not wait until after your depart- 
ure before putting away a letter which must 
have been lying there since the delivery of last 
night’s mail, and which I never saw the necessity 
of putting away under lock and key before your 
arrival. ... Is that not true ?” 

“ By my faith, my dear Chief, you are the. very 
devil in person.” 

“ As for you, Heurtloup, you have not been 
my assistant for more than thirty years without 
knowing you as well as J do myself. Curiosity 
with you is not very strong, for, before all, you 
are a man of order and discipline, and you said to 
yourself : ‘ How the Chief must have changed 
since he gave up leading an active life, to leave 
his papers lying about open on his desk,’ and 


THE CONVICT S REVENGE. 


203 


you concluded vaguely, without perhaps know- 
ing exactly why, that that particular letter must 
have been of little or no value, while Luce, on 
the contrary, supposed it to be of the greatest 
importance. . . . Am I mistaken?” 

The two men looked at each astonished and 
answered almost in the same breath : 

“ It is marvellous. Chief !” 

‘‘One would suppose you could read our 
inmost thoughts, ’’.continued Luce. 

“And it must be confessed that rest has not 
helped to rust you,” exclaimed Heurtloup, 
admiringly. 

“ In the main,” replied the old Detective, 
“you take all this, perhaps, for idle rambling on 
my part, for you are impatient to tell me some- 
thing, 1 know, but it is this attention to trifles, 
valueless in appearance, which makes the detec- 
tive of genius, for it often happens that little 
facts suddenly assume enormous importance. 
Thus, among other great matters, — I am only 
making a supposition, but note it well! . . . 
suppose that in this very letter the following 
phrase should occur : ‘ I announce to you that 
this evening, between eleven o’clock and mid- 


204 


THE FROLER CASE. 


night, Froler will be stabbed in his office at the 
Prefecture de Police.’ ” 

The two detectives, pale, startled at these 
words, stood erect, as if moved by the same 
impulse, uttering an exclamation in which sur- 
prise was mingled with something akin to terror. 

“ What is the matter?” said Jacques Laurent, 
looking astonished, “ one would suppose that 
you had sworn not to listen to me in peace. I 
pursue my subject: ‘The name of the assassin is 
unknown, but it is to be found [(always a sup- 
position) written at full length in this letter 
which, lying open on my desk, might have been 
read by either of you.’ Which, 1 do not know, 
but were 1 forced to confess, I would not hesi- 
tate, my dear Luce, in saying that with you the 
curiosity of the detective would outweigh other 
considerations as well as the spirit of discipline 
and restraint. While with Heurtloup, the con- 
trary would have been the case, and 1 would not 
have been mistaken ! Apply this method of 
analysis and deduction to the research of crime, 
and you will almost always arrive at satisfactory 
results. . . . Now, my friends, I shall not leave 
you in suspense any longer : I did not wish to 
be interrupted in my preamble, but it is true^f 


THE convict's REVENGE. 


205 


the letter of which I have just been speaking 
announces to me not only the death of Froler 
last night, but also those of Trincart and the 
notary Petit-Ledru. What truth is there in all 
this? I have a particular interest in knowing.” 

“You have not been misinformed, Chief,” 
responded Luce,“ all that they have foretold has 
come to pass. We came to announce the facts 
and to tell you besides that young Monsieur de 
Marsay was, about the same hour, carried off by 
some unknown people on the Megisserie quay.” 

“ Exactly. That also formed part of the news 
they gave me.” 

“ Who could possibly have informed you of 
what had not yet happened?” 

“ People who apparently had the ordering of 
these events before they were accomplished. 
You will know who they are later on.” 

“ These people,” replied Luce, “ convey the 
impression to me of bearing a very close resem- 
blance to those who accomplished these events.” 

“ You burn, my friend. In truth, I am proud 
of my old pupil ; but what you do not know, my 
dear Luce, what you cannot know, is what is con- 
tained in the concluding paragraph of this mys- 
terious letter. But listen !” 


206 


THE FKOLER CASE. 


And Jacques Laurent, having taken out the 
letter from his portfolio, read aloud : 

“‘This quadruple act of justice accomplished, 
we beg you, my dear Jacques Laurent, to exert 
every possible means in your power that the 
very honorable Monsieur de Vergennes, the 
Chief of Police, and Luce, who will certainly be 
promoted to the position of Chief Detective, 
may not have to suffer the consequences of 
their failure in the search for the guilty parties, 
whom they will never succeed in discover- 
ing ’ " 

“ Your unknown correspondent is advancing 
rather too quickly,” hazarded Luce. 

“ You have a lower opinion of his perspicacity 
than he has of yours . . . . ‘ whom they will 
never succeed in discovering officially ’ . . . . 
which means, it seems to me, that even should 
you come to know who they are, you will, for 
some reason or other, hesitate to arrest them. 
. . . . ‘ Monsieur de Vergennes, at this moment,’ 
. . . . listen carefully, this is the concluding 
sentence of the letter : 

“ ‘ Must not leave the Prefecture de Police. He 
has been entrusted with a secret mission to save. 


THE CONVICT S REVENGE. 


207 


at any sacrifice, the Due de Vergy-Coislin, peer 
of France, from the scaffold, who was arrested 
by order of the Minister of Justice about six 
weeks ago, and over whose head hangs on accu- 
sation of assassination. Do then all that human 
power can accomplish, not only to maintain 
Monsieur de Vergennes in his position, for we 
can never forget all the Duke did for us on a 
memorable occasion, but also to help the latter 
to escape ; spare neither trouble nor gold .... 
gold above all, which opens every door. . . . 
Vengeance and gratitude is the motto we have 
adopted.’ 

Do 3’ou understand now? I have given you 
a lesson on psychology applied to the police 
apropos of this letter — it is a hobby of mine, you 
must remember, for whatever police duties I 
attend to now, is done with the head and not 
with the legs. I have arrested more people 
here from my study, than all the Chiefs of the 
Detective’s Force who pass their time in running 
through the streets of Paris, — do you compre- 
hend, I say, that we have not lost our time 

I know all you wish to tell me, and you know all 
I have to say. There is nothing left for us to do 
now but act. In a word, as a summary of all 


208 


THE FROLER CASE. 


that has occurred, your brother, Luce, and 
Ernest Dutheil, who made their escape many long 
years ago from Guiana, have returned to deal 
out justice, and to avenge themselves on the 
scoundrels who were the cause of their condem- 
nation, and to whom they have attributed, not 
without reason, the sad end of your parents, who 
succumbed to poverty and grief, as well as 
the death of Dutheil’s sister, your brother’s 
wife. ...” 

And my niece, Charlotte ?” 

“ She is not dead ; I have succeeded in dis- 
covering her, and by this time, she is doubtless 
in her father’s arms.” 

“ May Heaven reward you, Jacques Laurent.” 

“ Thank you, that is always acceptable. . . . 
I am one of those who believe in Divine justice. 
I have always taken a deep interest in your 
brother’s case. He would never have been con- 
demned had I been in the Detective Force. 
Froler behaved like a scoundrel and a coward, 
and I will in a measure relieve my feelings by 
telling you why he deserved death. The villain, 
on the conclusion of the expert’s evidence at 
your brother’s trial, who testified that there was 


THE convict’s REVENGE. 


209 


an evidence of freshness about the books, was 
commissioned to make a secret and unexpected 
perquisition in Trincart’s bank, at his private 
house, or anywhere where he considered there 
was a likelihood of discovering the truth ; the 
villain, I repeat, who was on the right scent, 
went straight to the chateau of the Due de 
Gergy, at Choisy. The latter was absent. The 
frightened domestics never offered any resist- 
ance to the investigations of the police, and the 
original books from Trincart’s — those which had 
served for making the new ones, those which 
proved as clear as day the innocence of the two 
accused men — were found at the bottom of an 
old barrel which Froler made them open. The 
scamp knew how important his discovery was, 
and was paid one hundred thousand francs to hold 
his tongue. . . . Do you not think he deserved 
his fate ?” 

“ I was ignorant of all that,” replied Luce, pale 
with indignation. “ His death was too easy a 
punishment for his crime.” 

“ You know by whose hand he died ?” 

“Yes, by Monsieur de Marsay’s, in order to 
save his son. . . . My brother does not seem to 
me to have had any hand in this business.” 


210 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“ Directly, no ! for it was 1 who managed the 
whole affair.” 

“ That can be easily seen !” 

“ Always that knowledge of the human heart, 
my dear fellow. You see in me the chief of the 
banking firm of Eusebio Muranda & Co. I 
knew that Froler was capable of anything to 
obtain a seat in the State Council, and that 
Monsieur de Marsay would even be capable of a 
crime to defend his son. The encounter between 
these two characters was bound to end in a cat- 
astrophe. 

“ It was then that Paul de Marsay was invited 
to the Comte d’ Alpujar’s, your brother’s inti- 
mate friend. Luce.” 

“You are surely joking! The ambassador of 
Portugal, the friend of an escaped convict!” 

“ I am quite serious, Luce ; besides, Charles 
will tell you a good many things still more sur- 
prising. The Due de Dampmart-Conti, who has 
a peculiar faculty for marking the king, won a 
fabulous sum from Paul de Marsay at ^carte, 
which the young man paid with a check of his 
friend Emmanuel de Castro’s, cashed at the bank 
of Eusebio Murando & Co., which had been 
brought into existence for this very purpose. 


THE convict’s REVENGE. 


211 


Then it was discovered that the check was 
apparently a forgery, although Emmanuel had 
really lent the money to his friend ; but being, 
as he pretended, wounded in his right hand, he 
had made young De Marsay, who was the one 
who benefited, sign the check. So that the 
actual forgery was not the less indisputable. 

It was then that I brought Froler on the 
scene by lodging a formal complaint, and the 
fellow took such advantage of the situation that 
De Marsay, Senior, forced to extremities, ended 
by making himself the instrument of vengeance. 
You know the rest. ... I hardly expected to 
succeed so well, but I repeat to you : ‘ Study 

the character of men, and you can make them 
dance like so many puppets ’. . . . I have told 
you, I felt the keenest sympathy for Charles and 
his brother-in-law, and after their condemnation 
I did not cease to look after their interests. To 
effect their escape, I made myself the interme- 
diary between the wealthy banker R. . . . and 
the Due de Vergy-Coislin and the American 
ship-owners who furnished the vessel which re- 
ceived them after their flight from Cayenne. For 
this purpose I made a special journey to and 
from New York. 


212 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“ Ever since, we have kept up a correspond- 
ence, and when they returned to France for the 
purpose of accomplishing their wqrk of justice 
and avenging reparation, to which they had 
vowed their lives, it was again I who aided them 
with my advice and experience, so that they 
might execute their projects without any danger 
to their safety. 

“We tried the cowardly culprits in secret 
under the presidency of the Comte d’ Alpujar 
and Froler, Trincart and Petit-Ledru were con- 
demned to death. I advised that they should be 
executed the same night, and all the preparations 
were made. ..." 

“ The preparations . . . ." 

“ Certainly ; it was necessary that not one of 
us should leave the slightest trace .... The 
two houses inhabited by Trincart and the law- 
yer were bought ; all the necessary arrange- 
ments were made while these two gentlemen 
were at the seaside ; a panel in the ceiling of 
their bedrooms was made to turn in such a fash- 
ion as to give free passage to the one who was 
to execute the sentence, and they waited before 
fixing the day until the De Marsay-Froler affair 
was well under way, and the last meeting 


THE convict’s REVENGE. 


213 


arranged between them. As to young De Mar- 
say, who had something else to answer for, 
before forty-eight hours, he will have an oppor- 
tunity of making reparation for his fault.” 

“You are really astonishing, my dear Chief,” 
exclaimed Luce. “ It recalls to one’s mind a 
story from the Arabian Nights, It would 
hardly be possible to believe, did we not know 
you so well.” 

“ Peuh !” said Jacques Laurent. “All that is 
only a little amateur police work. ... In short, 
I see from the news you have brought me, that, 
so far, everything has succeeded according to 
our desires. There is only one other piece 
of business yet remaining for which I am per- 
sonally responsible, and of which I have not yet 
received any news. . . .” 

At this moment, as if in answer to this speech, 
a quick tap was heard at the door. Jacques 
Laurent went quickly forward and opened it, 
and a man of tall figure, with a soft felt hat 
pulled over his eyes, and with a large cloak cov- 
ering him, head to foot, entered the room. 

“ Heaven be praised. Monsieur le Due, you are 
saved,” said the detective. 

“ Everything has gone on just as we would 


214 


THE FKOLER CASE. 


have wished,” said the newcomer; “the body 
sent from the dissecting-room was sewn in a 
mattress that they had gained permission to bring 
from my house and introduced into the gaol by 
the connivance of the head-keeper ; on entering, 
the bearers wrote down three names on the 
register so that the same number might go out 
again. The corpse, dressed in my clothes, was 
hanged to the bars of the window of the' cell I 
had been immured in, and thanks to the precau- 
tion taken at the registry, I was able to pass out 
safely, and here 1 am !” 

“ You must leave for England this very day, 
Monieur le Due, with my two friends here.” 

“With us?” interrogated Luce in astonish- 
ment. 

“ Yes, you ! unless you do, the duke could not 
embark. His escape will be known by daylight, 
if it is not known already, and all the ports as 
well as the frontier will be watched. While in 
company of the Chief and Sub-Chief of the 
Detective Force, he absolutely runs no risk.” 

“ But the means of getting to England ?” 

That is a very simple matter ! An order from 
Monsieur de Vergennes to follow in the track 


THE CONVICT 8 REVENGE. 


215 


of young De Marsay’s abductors is all you 
require.” 

“We will never be able to obtain that after 
the three assassinations of last night, the per- 
petrators of which we have yet to discover.” 

“ It is useless to give yourself any further 
trouble on that score. I have provided for all 
that. There are, in the pavilion of my garden, 
at the present moment, three determined fellows 
whom I generally employ in any particular deli- 
cate mission. 1 have trained them sufficiently, 
and they are prepared to play for a few days 
the role of three murderers .... You must 
lead them with chains round their necks and 
manacles on their hands through the secret 
staircase of the Detective offices at the Prefec- 
ture, and while Luce conducts the assassins of 
Trincart and the lawyer Petit-Ledru to Mon- 
sieur de Vergennes, Heurtloup will give the 
alarm, police agents will hasten to his assistance 
and they will discover Froler’s murderer in a 
large wooden box, where you can conceal him 
on entering. All three will declare themselves 
as belonging to a band called the Avenging Con- 
victs, organized for the purpose of avenging 
themselves on their judges and the police. 


216 


THE FEOLER CASE. 


Months will be passed in searching for their 
accomplices, and one fine day, when public 
opinion has calmed down, we will assist them to 
escape in their turn. 

“Do you think that after this Monsieur de Ver- 
gennes will refuse your request for an order to 
follow in the track of his brother-in-law’s abduc- 
tors as far as London ?” 

“ No, certainly not !” 

“Everything will then go on admirably. You 
will have your commission written out in this 
form : ‘ The Chief Detective, the Sub-Detective 
and an agent;’ and with this authority you will 
take your places in the steamboat without 
difficulty.” 

“ What an inventive genius nature has gifted 
you with, Chief,” replied Luce ; “ at eighty years 
of age you surpass us all put together.” 

“ You know my secret, it depends on yourself 
alone to put it into execution .... And 
now, gentlemen, lose no time ; you must take 
the mail boat from Calais to Dover this evening. 
.... Come, I will give you up your prison- 
ers ; they only ask for one thing, to be comprised 
among the list of prisoners who are allowed to 
smoke, and that they may be allowed to live at 


THE CONVICT 8 REVENGE. 


217 


the Canteen. You see they are not unreason- 
able. They will be careful also to live in such 
a way as not to forfeit these favors. . . . 
Another thing I was forgetting. . . . 

“ At their trial, the evidence will be so per- 
plexing that the most severe sentence they will 
be likely to receive is banishment from France 
for a space of ten years, in which case 1 have 
assured them an income of eighteen hundred 
francs a year during their lifetime. It is a mere 
trifle!’' 

“You play football with gold, Chief . . . .” 
said Heurtloup, pensively. . . . The poor detec- 
tive had been dreaming for thirty years of one 
day retiring on this sum, but had never been 
able to put aside a sou. 

“ Your turn will come, old fellow,” said 
Jacques Laurent, who had guessed his thoughts. 
“ If they can pay those who only put in an 
appearance at Court in this way, just think how 
they will recompense those who have rendered 
such serious services as you are about to do.” 

While speaking, he had opened a door which 
led into a little passage, and said in the friendly, 
good-humored tone which never abandoned 
him: 


218 


THE FROLEB CASE. 


“Come along, rny lambs, it is useless to at- 
tempt concealment, your crime is discovered. 
Submit to your fate quietly.” 

The three men left the pavilion, where they 
had been awaiting the moment to enter on the 
scene, and quietly allowed themselves to be 
handcuffed ; for it was deemed better to be pre- 
pared in case of encountering any of the munici- 
pal police on their rounds. 

Two hours afterward Luce had returned with 
his companions furnished with their commission 
for England, indicating as Jacques Laurent had 
demanded. ... “ The Chief and Sub-Chief of 

the Detective Force accompanied by an agent.” 
It was the saving of the Due de Vergy-Coislin. 

In the extremity of his delight at learning of 
the capture made by his subordinates, he had 
refused them nothing. 

“ You have saved me, gentlemen,” he had 
said to them, “ and rest assured I shall never for- 
get it.* 

A note had been sent to all the papers an- 
nouncing the three assassinations at the same 
time with the capture of the three murderers. 
The greater number of journals issued a second 
edition, in which glowing tributes were paid to 


THE convict’s REVENGE. 


219 


the Chief of Police and his subordinates. With 
one accord they all applauded the skill and vigi- 
lance of the Detective Force. 

Jacques Laurent was exultant. It was, as he 
said to himself, one of the finest strokes of busi- 
ness he had ever carried through in his life. 

The escape of the Duke was never made pub- 
lic ; the authorities profited by the trick which 
had been employed on them, to announce that 
he had hanged himself in his cell, which cut 
short any expression of opinion. 

About four o’clock. Luce and Heurtloup came 
back to accompany the Duke, now properly dis- 
guised, in order to accomplish the mission 
Jacques Laurent had intrusted to them ; they 
were to dine somewhere in the neighborhood 
of the niilway station and take the six o’clock 
train, which corresponded with the departure of 
the mail train. 

The old Chief handed a sealed letter to Luce, 
which he was to open in London at the Charing 
Cross Hotel, where he was directed to put up. 
This letter contained the three further orders he 
had promised to execute. 

The two detectives and their companion had 
not turned the corner of the Rue Lepic, when 


220 


THE FROLER CASE. 


Jacques Laurent said to himself with an indefina- 
ble smile : 

“ Come now, everything is going on well in 
Paris; let us see if matters are progessing 
equally well in London.” 

He then entered his dressing-room, spread out 
on a marble table all the different little jars of 
salves and unguents which he made use of to 
disguise himself, and in less than an hour after- 
wards no one would have recognized the 
octogenarian in the man of fifty years or there- 
abouts who left the detective’s house. Jacques 
Laurent had given to his perfectly white hair, a 
beautiful tint of red gold, that tint so much 
prized by the old Venetian masters. He had 
imparted a bronzed tint to his complexion and 
parted his beard at the chin, allowing it to flow 
in long whiskers in the English fashion, which 
gave him a very high bred appearance. He 
might have been taken for some general from 
India come to spend a few months in England. 

He had the curiosity to get into the same 
compartment with Luce and his companions, to 
enter into conversation with them in an admir- 
ably imitated foreign accent, and was not recog- 
nized by any of the party. On arriving at the 


THE CONVICT S REVENGE. 


221 


Charing Cross Hotel, he asked for room No. 75, 
which he had retained by telegram the evening 
before, and had not been there five minutes when 
there was a knock at the door. 

“ Come in !” he called out in his natural voice. 

The door was opened, and Luce, with his two 
companions, stood before him, quite taken back 
on recognizing their travelling companion. 

“ Excuse me. General,” stammered Luce, “ we 
must have made a mistake in the number of the 
room.” 

The sealed letter he had just opened bore 
these words : “ Your further orders will be trans- 
mitted to you by a friend at the hotel you put 
up at, room 75.” 

Thoroughly accustomed to the old Chief’s 
manner of doing things. Luce did not experience 
any astonishment on reading this laconic docu- 
ment, and had tranquilly presented himself at 
the place indicated. 

“ Eh ! no, you have made no mistake, my dear 
Luce,” replied Jacques Laurent laughing ; “ it 
must be that I have grown considerably younger 
since yesterday, if you cannot recognize me.” 

The three men stood speechless with astonish- 
ment in presence of this skillful transformation. 


222 


THE FROLER CASE. 


“Your equal will never appear in the Force 
again,” said Luce, shaking his head, “ and I can- 
not understand how you were allowed to retire 
twenty years ago.” 

“ My dear fellow, it is a lesson which may be 
profitable to you. 1 had become more powerful 
than the Prefet, or even than the Minister of the 
Interior himself ; both, in spite of themselves, had 
to submit to my influence, and it had to end by 
their asking me to retire. I accepted the situa- 
tion and asked to be put on the retired list. . . . 
But I am gossiping here, and we have no time 
to lose ; it is eleven o’clock now, and lunch is at 
noon. Do not ask me any questions, for 1 shall 
not answer you. Go and dress, don your frock 
coat and light tie, and then come back here for 
me ; during the time you are away, I shall follow 
your example.” 

“ Come along,” said Luce, “ we go from one 
surprise to another, from mystery to mystery ; 
there is nothing for us but to obey.” 

An hour later the four men got into a carriage 
ordered by Jacques Laurent, and shortly after, 
arrived before a splendid looking mansion in 
South Kensington. About half a dozen foot- 
men in gorgeous livery were lounging in the 


THE convict’s REVENGE. 


223 


hall, headed by a major domo in the regulation 
costume. 

A man of mature years hastened forward to 
meet them, and shook hands warmly with 
Jacques Laurent. 

“ They are all waiting and ready for you,” he 
said to him in a low voice. 

“How has everything gone on?” demanded 
the latter, in the same tone. 

“We cannot say ; the young people have not 
seen each other yet.” 

“ Let us go up quickly, then. But, first, allow 
me to present my friends to you. Gentlemen, 
Monsieur le Comte Fernand d’ Alpujar, Ambas- 
sador of Portugal at Paris. And now. Count, we 
are ready to follow you.” 

The newcomers were introduced into a vast 
drawing-room on the first floor, where every- 
thing that could be imagined in the way of lux- 
ury and extravagant display was spread around 
in profusion. 

“ What or whoever you may hear or see, 
keep silent !” said Jacques Laurent to his friends. 
“ Those are your orders.” 

• Around a large Louis XV. table were stand- 
ing in full uniform. Messieurs d' Alpujar, Alva- 


224 


THE FROLER CASE. 


rez and Emmanuel de Castro, De Dampmart, 
the two Trevenenc, and Hubert de Villantrois, 
captain in the French navy. Near them was 
seated the sheriff of the county. 

“ Introduce the young couple,” ordered Mon- 
sieur d’Alpujar. 

Two doors situated opposite to each other 
were thrown open and two exclamations were 
heard at the same time. 

“ Charlotte !” 

“ Paul !” 

The young woman came forward trembling 
with emotion. . . . 

“ You here, Charlotte ! what is the meaning of 
this farce?” cried Paul de Marsay, for it was he. 

Then, perceiving the sheriff, whom he recog- 
nized by his uniform : 

“ Ah !” he said, “ here is a magistrate !” 

Then addressing him : 

“ Sir, I charge these men here with having 
carried me away by force from my own country 
and with having me imprisoned since yester- 
day. . . .” 

Silence !” interrupted the sheriff, “ we must 
proceed in order. I will listen to anything you. 
have to say later. But first, I must acquaint you 


THU convict’s REVENOU. 


with a charge made against you by Monsieur le 
Comte d’Alpujar of abducting a young girl under 
age, named Mademoiselle Charlotte de Castro, his 
daughter, carried away from her family when a 
child, and only lately restored to her father’s 
arms.” 

I don’t at all understand what you are say- 
ing !” said the young man, quite bewildered by 
this revelation ; “ if it is a comedy you are carry- 
ing out, let there be an end to it.” 

'‘No, Paul,” said Charlotte, running up to him, 
“ it is not a comedy ; look, read these papers. 1 
am indeed the daughter of the Count Servet 
Alvarez de Castro. Do you wish to send me and 
your children away from you now that we are 
well-born and rich ?” 

Overcome with emotion, the young man 
clasped her in his arms. 

“You have only one means to pursue,” con- 
tinued the Sheriff, “ to escape the consequences 
of the charge brought against you, and that is to 
repair your fault by marriage before us as 
witnesses.” 

“ He will consent ; he does !” cried Charlotte 
through her tears. And going up to her father. 


226 


THE FROLER CASE. 


she took his hand, and drawing him forward, 
placed it in Paul De Marsay’s. 

For a moment the two men hesitated, then 
shook hands warmly, promising in that supreme 
moment of joy and happiness, total forgetfulness 
of the past. 

In just fifteen minutes more, Charlotte de Cas- 
tro openly became Countess de Marsay. . . . 

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Alvarez 
de Castro came up to Luce, and drawing him 
familiarly towards the window : 

“ Come, Luce, my brother,” he said to him, 
“ we have a great deal to talk about.” 

“ Charles !” cried the detective, in a voice of 
suppressed emotion. 

“ Hush ! my dear fellow,” replied Alvarez. 

. . . . “ Charles is dead ; there is only the Count 
de Castro, a Portuguese noble, owner of two 
provinces and a gold mine in Peru !” 


THE END. 


COUSIN PONS 


TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF 


HONORE DE BALZAC. 


12mo. 439 Fagres. With. Twelve Beautiful and Characteristic 

Illustrations by Whitney, Handsomely Boimd in Cloth, Price, 
$1.00. Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


Cousin Pons is one of the most interesting characters in the 
whole range of Balzac’s wonderful creations. Balzac penetrated 
human nature to its depth. There is scarcely a type which 
evaded his keen eye. His characters are types of the living, 
human world swarming at his feet. His creations are as real as 
noble peaks standing out against an evening sky. In every one 
of Balzac’s novels there is a great human lesson. There is not a 
volume you can open which does not set forth some deep human 
truth by means of characterizations so vivid that they seem to 
breathe. So it is with ‘‘Cousin Pons.” After reading it we 
think of him not as a character in a novel, but as a personage — a 

I 

sweet and true soul — a simple enthusiast for art and beauty at' 
the mercy of selfish and vulgar harpies. 


A ‘New Book by Mrs. Barr. 


THE 

MATE of the “EASTER BELL” 

AND OTHER STORIES. 


BY 

AMELIA E. BARR. 

^ Authtrr of The Beads of Tasmerf Mrs. Barr's Short Stories f 
The Bow of Oraiige Ribbon f Friend Olivia f etc. 

TT/rff ILLUSTRATIONS BT YIGTOR PERARD. 


12mo. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.26. Paper 
Cover, 50 Cents. 


These delightful stories embrace some of Mrs. Barr’s best work. 
‘‘ The Mate of the ^ Easter Bell ’ ” was first published as an Easter 
story in the New York Ledger and attracted much notice, it has 
all the characteristics of Mrs. Barr’s more ambitious works. It is 
a story of true love, in which patience and heroism are exalted. 
The book contains a variety of other stories, grave and gay, full 
of fine characters, drawn with the vigor and discrimination which 
have raised Mrs. Barr to the front rank of the novelists of our 
time. The book is nicely illustrated, and forms a beautiful com- 
panion volume to the Beads of Tasmer.” 

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Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


EDITH TREVOR’S SECRET. 


BY 


MRS. HARRIET LEWIS, 

Author of Her Double Lifef Lady Kildare f Beryl's 

Husband f The Two Husbands f “ Sundered 
Hearts Edda's Birthright f etc. ^ etc. 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WARREN B. DAVIS. 


12iuo. 870 Pag-es. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


‘‘Edith Trevor’s Secret” is a romantic love story, the scene of 
which is laid in the Black Forest of Germany, and in the rich and 
aristocratic circles of London society. The heroine is an exquisite 
girl, who has been brought up in the shadow of the mountains, 
where she is discovered by a young English nobleman. When 
they have become betrothed, the jealousy and ambition of others 
interpose to prevent the marriage, and a rapid succession of inci- 
dents and situations of surpassing interest follow. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, post- 
paid, on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


A New Novel by Mrs. Soutbworth. 




a 



9 ? 


BY 

MRS.^E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH, 

Author of The Unloved Wife,” Unknown f Gloriaf 

The Hidden Handf etc. 


F/TH ILLUSTRATIONS BY F. A. CARTER. * 


12mo. 868 Fagres. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


Em ” is one of Mrs. South worth’s charming girls. Like Capi- 
tola in “ The Hidden Hand,” every reader of her story loves her. 
This novel is all about “ Em,” her life at home, her lover and her 
extraordinary history. There is a wealth of incident, of emotion, 
of character, of strange adventures, which holds the reader’s at- 
tention steadfast and weaves a charm around the heart. We can- 
not say anything which will better recommend this novel than 
that it is equal to The Hidden Hand.” 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
j on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce STkEETs, New York. 


A Sequel to ‘‘‘Em/” 


“EM’S” HUSBAND. 


BY 

MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH, 

Author of “ Em, ^ The Unloved Wife,'' “ Unknown,'^ 

“ Gloria," The Hidden Hand," etc. 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BT F. A. OARTER, 


12mo. 396 Fagres. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


Husband” carries forward the narrative of Em’s ” 
life, introducing new and thrilling chapters in her history and 
further developing a most interesting character. Mrs. Southworth 
in her novels gives the best pictures of old Southern manners and 
hospitality that are to be found in our literature. Her Virginians 
represent the true and perfect specimens of the men and women 
of the times before the War, and they have a charm which no 
other stories of that period possess. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BOKNER’S SpNS, 

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A Fresh Translation from the German. 


DEAR ELSIE 

21 JToDtL 


TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF 

JOHANNES VAN DEWALL, 


BY 

MARY J. SAFFORD, 

Translator of Wife and Woman f Little Heather-Blossom f 
Love Is Lord of All f “ True Daughter of 
Hartensteinf etc.^ etc. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WARREN B. DAYIS AND WILSON 
DE MEZA. 

^ 12mo. 336 Pagres. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 

Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


All who have read Miss Safford’s delightful translations from 
the German will welcome ^‘Dear Elsie,” which is one of the 
sweetest and prettiest and most artistic novels from the German 
that we have met with. The characters are quite out of the com- 
mon run, and glimpses are given of high life in Paris, of brilliant 
scenes under the Empire, and of the perils of a youthful heiress 
in the brilliant and corrupt society gathered from all parts of 
Europe by the lavish display of Louis Napoleon’s court at the 
Tuileries. But in German novels, as in German life, honest love 
and simplicity and sincerity of character come out of the crucible 
only purified and strengthened. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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CoR. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


The Breach of Custom 


TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN 


BY 

Mrs. D. M. Lowrey 


WITH CHOICE ILLUSTRATIONS BY O, W, SIMONS. 


Paper Cover, 60 Cents. Bound Volume, $1.00. 


This is a translation of an interesting and beautiful German 
novel, introducing an artist and his family, and dealing with the 
most pathetic circumstances and situations. The hliroine is an 
ideal character. Her self-sacrifice is noble and exalted, and the 
influence which radiates from her is pure and ennobling. Every 
one who reads this book will feel that it is one which will be a 
life influence. Few German stories have more movement or are 
more interesting. There are great variety and charm in the 
characters and situations. 

For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of 
price by 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, Publishers, 

- 182 William Street, New York, - 


A Fine English Novel. 


REUBEN FOREMAN, 

The Village Blacksmith. 

BY 

DARLEY DALE, 

Author' of Fair Katharine f etc.y etc, 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WARREN B. DAVIS. 

12ino. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. Paper 
Cover, 50 Cents. 


All admirers of Jane Austen’s painstaking and truthful studies 
of English life, replete with fine touches of character, description 
and humor, will read the story of “The Village Blacksmith” 
with unmixed pleasure. The portraits of the Rev. Ryot-Tempest 
and the widow, Mrs. Jamieson, are so well done that they move 
through the work like living persons. The characters of Reuben 
and his daughter are also exceedingly successful, and the story in 
which they play such important parts is so well kept together and 
worked out, that our interest in them is real and our desire for 
their vindication and happiness is passionate. This novel is very 
ably written and very original in its types of character and in the 
treatment of religious and moral questions and feelings which 
give strength and intensity to such works as “ Robert Elsmere” 
and “David Grieve.” It is far above the average English novel 
in interest. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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WIFE AND WOMAN; 

OR, 

A TANGLED SKEIN. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF 

L. Haidheim. 

By MARY J. SAFFORD. 


WITH ILLVSTRATlONa BY F. A, OABTJBB, 


12mo. Beautifully lUtistraiied. Handsomely Bound in Cloth, 
Price, $1.00. Paper Qover, 50 Cents. 


** A thoroughly good society novel.” This is the verdict of a 
bright woman after reading this story. It belongs to the Marlitt 
school of society novels, and the author is a favored contributor 
to the best periodicals of Germany. It has a good plot, an 
abundance of incident, very well drawn characters and a good 
ending. There is no more delightful story for a summer holiday. 

. For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

' Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York 


THE COUNTRY DOCTOR 

21 IfoDtl. 

p 

BV 

HONORE DE BALZAC, 

Author of “ Cesar Birotteauf “ The Alchemist f ** Cousin 
Ponsf Eugenie Grandetf etc,^ etc* 

Translated from the French by Mrs. Fred. M. Dey. 

ynm illustrations by warren b, datis. 

l2mo. 860 Padres. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


** The Country Doctor ” is one of Balzac’s greatest creations. 
It is the portrait of an ideal man .in a situation where superior 
ability and knowledge enable him to raise a whole community to 
a higher level of morality, prosperity and intelligence. It is a 
study in social science far more valuable than dull treatises and 
histories of social experiments. It is full of human interest and 
feeling and that wonderful realism which makes all of Balzac’s 
works like veritable stories of real life. The heroine is a creature 
of rare beauty and charm. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, post* 
paid, on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York 


LIDA CAMPBELL, 

OR 

DRAMA OF A LIFE. 


a Mo»ii 


BY 

JEAN KATE LUDLUM, 

Author of Under Oathf “ Under a Cloud f John Win- 
throp’s Defeat f •etc. 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. M. EATON. 

12mo. 361 Pag-es. Handsomely Botmd in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 

Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


This beautiful story was written one year ago. Even then the 
author had premonitory symptoms of the fell disease which so 
recently struck her down in her youth. Her talent was develop- 
ing rapidly, and she promised to become one of the most popular 
writers of the day. “ Lida Campbell, or Drama of a Life,” is a 
novel of the present. Its characters and incidents are familiar, 
and have the strong interest of natural sequence and probability. 
The emotional power which is a marked characteristic of Miss 
Ludlum’s work is strongly wrought out in this novel, and the 
most casual reader cannot fail to be intensely interested in it. 

For sale by • . booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, post- 
paid, on r^' .ipt of price, by the publishers, 

‘ ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

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LITTLE HEATHER-BLOSSOM. 

(ERICAJ 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF 


FRAU VON INGERSLEBEN, 

' BY 

MARY J. SAFFORD. 

WITH ILLUSTBATJONa BY WABBEN B. DAVIS, 

12mo. 470 Padres. Handsomely Botind in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


This novel is one of the most interesting that has been pub- 
lished in this country, taken from the German. It has more 
variety of character and scenery than is usual in German novels. 
All admirers of Marlitt will find it a novel to their taste. Miss 
Safford, the translator, who was the first to discover the merit of 
Werner and Heimburg, is very partial to it. Among its salient 
points are a wreck, a runaway, life in a castle on the Rhine, with 
its terraces sloping to the river, balls, entertainments and exqui- 
site character sketches. The heroine is one of the loveliest 
creations of fiction. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


A Lively Story of Adventure in Modem Eg^ypt. 


MYNHEER JOE. 

% 

BY 

ST. GEORGE RATHBORNE, 

Author of Doctor Jackf etc. 


ILLUSTRATED BY H. M. EATON AND H. C. EDWARDS. 


12zrio. 300 Fag-es. Handsomely Botmd in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


This is a story of a Yankee detective and newspaper corre- 
spondent in Egypt. The principal incidents of the story occur 
in Cairo. The hero participates in General Gordon's gallant de- 
fense of Khartoom and brings back news of Gordon’s death. 
Naturally, he falls in love with a lively Western girl who is visit- 
ing Egypt with her father, who has made his fortune in a boom 
^nd is seeing the world. The story is full of lively incidents, it 
has a fresh, breezy atmosphere and is a capital book for a railway 
journey and summer reading in the country. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

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A Story of a Strange Disappearance. 


WAS SHE WIFE OR WIDOW? 


BV 

MALCOLM BELL. 


WJTB ILLUSTRATIONS BY F. A. CARTER. 


l2mo. 818 Faeres. Handsomely Botmd in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


It is a most excellent novel, provoking curiosity to the utmost 
and holding the interest at the highest to the end. We never 
read anything quite like it before. “ Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde ” 
is not more strange and not more interesting. To enter into thf 
plot of the story would not give a correct and adequate idea of 
the author’s conception and the admirable manner in which it is 
worked out. It is as good as one of Gaboriau’s detective sto»'ies 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, post- 
paid, on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


A Sequel to “ Tressilian Court/’ 


GUY TRESSILIAN’S PATE. 


RV 


MRS. HARRIET LEWIS, 

Author of Neva's Three Lovers^" Edda's Birthright," 
Beryl's Htisbaud," Edith Trevor's Seeret," Cecil 
Rosse," Beatrix Rohan," “ The Bailiff's 
Scheme," Sundered Hearts," etc. 


ILLVSTltXTKJ) BY A. 11'. VAX DEUSEX. 


12mo. 320 Pages. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


“ Guy Tressilian’s Fate” is the continuation and conclusion of 
that remarkable novel, “ Tressilian Court,” by the same author. 
It should be read in connection with “ Tressilian Court ” to be 
thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated. It forms with that novel 
one of the best of Mrs. Lewis’s works. 

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